Fight for Jude
by meyouthem123
Summary: AU: Jude has lived with Stef and Lena for few months and now the family is getting ready to adopt him. But what happens, when Callie, who is 18 and finally out of the foster care, decides to try and get guardianship of her brother. Will Jude get adopted by Stef and Lena or will he live with his sister? Not a Brallie!
1. Chapter 1

Lena POV

**_August 10, 2015_**

We were both sitting in the living room, waiting. Twins and Brandon were up in their rooms. The house was quiet. Stef and I were just sitting on our couch, holding hands, looking into nothing and nowhere. The clock ticked counting away the seconds.

Stef turned to me "What time did you say Bill will be here?"

I quickly turn to look back at her "He said at 3" We both glance to the clock on the wall. It read 3:07.

"They will probably be here soon" Stef said quickly and started to tap her free hand fingers at her knee

"Are you nervous?" I ask when I noticed that. Stef shrugged back at first, looked down to our interlocked fingers

"Not really nervous…okay, maybe a little. I hate the waiting" she had kept her gaze down while she spoke

"I know you are angry" I said because I know I broke the promise

Stef instantly looked up to me "No, no…Love, I am not angry"

"We had agreed we won't be fostering, not until Brandon is out of the house, at college. But Bill called and I…simply…agreed to foster a boy" I said back "I know money is tight right now and I made that decision without consulting with you!" Stef has been very on edge for the last few months, because of our financial situation

"Love," Stef creased my cheek softly "I'm not angry" she repeated softly "If Bill had called me instead of you, I would have said yes too. I know you only did it because of your big heart. I can never be angry because of that, love. And I don't want you to worry about the money…"

"Of course I will worry, Stef, we are-" I was interrupted by a sound just outside our house, a car had just pulled up. We both looked over our shoulders, out the living room window.

"They are here!" I said exited looking to Stef, she smiled back and we got up together. We stood still for few seconds just looking at each other until Stef spoke up

"I will get the kids" she leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips and then headed out to hallway

I rub by palms by my pants nervously and head over to the front doors to open them. I reach the doors just when the doorbell rings.

I take a small breathe, calming down my fast beating heart, and slowly reach for the door handle. The doors creek lightly as I open them and once they are open, I smile seeing the young boy and Bill standing right in front of me.

"Bill" I greet him cheerfully and step aside to let them both in. Bill has a duffle bag in one hand, but other was placed protectively on the younger boys back.

"Lena" he greets me back and then guides the boy inside the house first

I close the doors behind and turn to both of them. We exchanges smiles and then, to stop the awkward silence, I ask "How was the ride here?"

"Good. Thank you. Sorry we are late, we had a little mishap on the way" He apologized

"Oh, don't worry about it, Bill"

"So, Jude" Bill looked down to the boy "This is Lena, one of your new foster moms" He explained and then looked up to me "Lena, this is Jude"

I extend my arm out "Nice to meet you Jude" I said and only then realize that the boy has his right hand in a sling. I quickly take the hand back and chuckle awkwardly and then add barely above whisper "Sorry"

He brushes it off and answers "It's nice to meet you too"

Jude looked up to Bill and asks as quietly as possible "One of?"

"I'm gay" I add quickly, because I heard the questions, I didn't want Bill to explain it "My wife is upstairs, getting our kids"

"Oh, okay" he didn't seem bothered by news. Just then we all heard footsteps on the stairs and we turned to see Stef and the kids coming down the stairs.

Our three kids stood in a line. Stef stood next to me "This is Stef, my wife" I introduced them "Stef this is Jude"

"Hi Jude" Stef said happily. Jude didn't smile back, he just looked back at her. Stef then started to introduce the kids and then took his bag and showed him around while I have a little chat with Bill.

"So…" Bill reached into his bag over his shoulder "These are his pain medications. One in the morning, one before night" I took the bottle from his hand while he continued

"He has a checkup set up in two weeks with Dr. Rodriguez at Mercy. Here, I wrote it down, time and everything" He handed me a note with the information

"You are probably enrolling him in Anchor Beach, right?" he asked reaching again in his bag

"That was the plan," I said watching his hands, waiting for what he takes out. He pulls out a file and hands it to me.

"His school records. Sorry to say, he is not the brightest kid. He has some serious problems with math. He barely can get D. Otherwise he is average C kid."

"Is it really that bad?" I ask concerned

"Pretty bad, he has been bouncing schools since he was 6. He never got the base of math and it has just gone downhill because he had to change schools so much"

His phone buzzed "I'm sorry, I have to take this" he picked up and walked to the dinner room to talk. I opened the file and looked over his school records. With these grades, I will have trouble getting him in Anchor Beach.

Bill hurried back to me "I'm sorry, I have to run. One of the kid just got arrested. You can call me any time if you have any questions regarding Jude"

"Oh, um…sure, yes" I quickly shook his hand that he was holding out "Thank you for doing this. I really appreciate what you are doing for this boy. He deserves a good home and—"

"We are happy to help. He seems really nice"

"He really is. Sweet kid" Bill smiled and then zipped up his bag "Don't hesitate to call. Thank you once again, Lena" He said walking out of the house.

I closed the doors behind and looked to the file once more reading his name again "Welcome to family, Jude Jacobs" I said to myself closing the file

**_November 20, 2015_**

We all were at the courthouse, waiting for us to being called in. It was the day Jude is going to get adopted. Jesus was showing some funny video to Mariana and Jude on his phone, while I was talking with Stef just few steps away from them.

"He said he would be here" Stef said looking at the phone once again

"Babe…relax, he will be here. He knows the time and he knows the place. It is probably traffic" I tried to keep Stef calm. Any minute now we would be called inside, but Brandon was still not here.

"I should have driven after him myself" Stef said unlocking the phone once again, to look at the time and see if he has texted or called

"There he is!" I said seeing Brandon walking through the courthouse doors. We all hugged him and then just like on time, our lawyer walked up to us

"Okay, let's get going kids!" Stef said excited and ushered the kids up from their seats

"Wait…" our lawyer said "I need to talk to the two of you for a second" She called me and Stef aside

"Is something wrong?" I ask worried, her tone of voice made me think that whatever she is going to tell us, won't be good news

"I'm…I'm afraid that Jude won't be able to get adopted today" she informed us

"What?" I breathed out in shock. Stef grabbed my hand instantly and squeezed it "What are you saying?" Stef got out

"I just received some news that…um…" she looked down to the her feet for a moment, she hesitated, making this whole thing even more painful "Stef, Lena" she looked between us "Jude's sister has applied to get legal guardianship of him"

**AN: So, this idea popped in my mind few weeks ago. I finally decided to post it. Would love to hear what you think about it? Is it worth the read? Would you be interested in reading this? **


	2. Chapter 2

Lena POV

"A sister?" I stutter out the word "He…has a sister?" Our lawyer only nods her head back to us to confirm what I just said.

Stef reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly. She was just as surprised as I was, only she was speechless. Her mouth parted, like she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

"I'm sorry, that the adoption couldn't go through today. I will call you two as soon as I know something else, any other court date, anything. I promise" She said and with that she walked away

I turn to Stef once she does "What are we going to do?" I ask her in a hushed voice

"What is it?" Mariana asks noticing our surprised looked. We walked back to the kids together, still holding each others hand. The kids were now watching us closely as we walked up to them.

"I have a feeling it is bad news" Brandon said observing both of our features

"Just tell me" Jude said quietly from where he sat between his two older brothers. Stef glanced to me and from her eyes I could tell she wasn't capable of telling him, she was still too shocked.

"Jude, buddy…" I said softly not taking my eyes off him "We can't adopt you today…I'm sorry, love"

"What? Why not?" Mariana exclaimed out loud, voicing what her brothers thought as well

"You said Donald signed the papers" Jesus spoke up"Did he change his mind?"

"It is not Donald" Stef finally spoke up, she tilted her head to one side watching the youngest boy "It is your sister, bud"

Silence.

Neither one of them said anything. Jude's face changed instantly. He swallowed back a lump in his throat. The other kids stood with shocked facial expressions. No one saw this coming, I don't think even Jude saw it coming.

"She wants to get legal guardianship over you, Jude" I explain further

"You have a sister?" Jesus turned to Jude, as did the other kids

"How come we didn't that!?" Mariana asked hurt. Jude remained silent.

"That means she is…out of the foster care?" Brandon asks looking up to us "Wait...was she in foster care?"

"We don't know any detail about her yet, but yes, she must over 18. Our lawyer will contact us as soon as she knows something and we will try to sort this out" I explained to the kids

"But right now" Stef spoke up softly "Jude, we can't adopt you. I'm sorry. But mama and I promise you, we will do everything we can, so you can become an Adams Foster, okay?" Jude's face remained blank as he just looked back at us.

"Let's go back home" Stef said stopping the silence that was surrounding all of us, ushering the kids to car.

* * *

><p>The other kids walked up to their rooms when we invited Jude to sit down with us for a minute to talk about what happened today.<p>

"Jude…why didn't you tell us you had a sister?" I ask softly, watching him closely

Jude glances down to his hands in his lap and shrugs at first, then adds quietly "It didn't come up. No time seemed right to tell you…"

"Where you afraid to tell us?" Stef asks pressing on the table with her elbows

"I wasn't afraid" He said looking up to us

"But…" I say quietly, feeling that there is going to be one

Jude sits quietly for a moment. Second later he lifts his hand up to the table, he was picking his finger nails and biting his lower lip while avoiding eye contact.

"I was afraid of what you would think of her" he admitted after a moment

"Jude, honey..." Stef reached over the table to his hand and squeezed it softly "We would love to hear about her"

"No" he pulled his hand out of her hand and said louder "You wouldn't" He shook his head "She is not like me…or Brandon…or the twins…"

"What…does that mean?" I was confused by his words

Jude's eyes traveled to Stef and he said bitter "You are a cop…"

Yes, Jude was a bit scared of Stef at first, when he found out she was a cop. He has had some bad experience with them. Jude never really went to details about it, but he has said, he doesn't trust cops, nor does he like them. But Jude did realized that Stef wasn't anything like the cops that he has met in his life and later on started to trust her.

Stef and I both were surprised by his words. I glance to Stef and we share a worried look. The only reason why he should think that, would be if his sister has been in some sort of trouble with the law or that she was hanging out with the wrong crowd of people.

"She was in juvie" Jude admitted looking to me. He looked scared as he waited for our reaction. Stef next to me tensed up, she straightened her back and reached for my hand under the table, trying to stay calm in front of Jude.

"See! I told you mom wouldn't like it!" He gestured to Stef next to me when he saw her movement. It didn't sit right with me as well, but I didn't show it as much. Of course that information worried me, I had no idea what she had done. I know nothing about who this girl was or what she was like.

"How about we dial back a bit" I interpose quickly to ease up the tension that was forming. Jude looked back to me, with confusion in his eyes, wondering where I am going with this. I felt Stef looking to me as well.

"How about you tell us about her" I suggest as I look between Stef and Jude

"What do you want to know?" Jude asks shifting on the stool after a short moment

"Can we start with her name?" I ask carefully watching the boy

"Callie…" Jude said after a moment, he relaxed a bit more "Her name is Callie"

Callie POV

I was maneuvering through the dining-hall while holding up 3 plates. The people who were walking towards me and not caring about a poor waitress with dishes in her hands, were making my job harder.

I almost spill the soup that was one of the dish, when 2 little girls run down the aisle. I stop just in time and balance the dishes, before I continue to head to the table 8.

"Here you go" I walk up to the table and place the dishes in front of the family "Have a nice meal" I tell them before I head back to kitchen area.

On the way there, I got called by another table to get their check ready. When I walk up to the small desk to get the check ready for table 11, the manager walks up to me.

"Callie, Rita is here" He says pointing to one of the booths at the other side of the restaurant. Rita smiles at me from the other side of the room and I do a small wave back at her.

"Thanks, Peter" I reply getting the check. I quickly get the check to the table and then head over to Rita. I take out the notepad and pen ready to take Rita's order.

"Hi, Callie. How did it go?" she doesn't dance around the bushes and just gets straight to the point

"Good…I think. I handed in the paperwork this morning and now I just have to wait till I hear from the lawyer" I reply after I shrugged at her first "Are you ready to order?

Rita was the one helping me with this whole thing. She was a big help and right now, the only person I could go to help. She knew the system inside out, she worked in the system.

I met her after Juvie, when I was placed in her group home – Group United. I stayed with the group home for few months, until I found out about this independent living program. Once I got my own little apartment, I knew I had taken the first step to towards my goal - getting custody of Jude when I turn 18. Rita has helped me every step of the way ever since I told her what was my goal.

"I will have the usual" Rita says back and I write down tomato soup, blueberry muffin and glass of freshly squeezed orange juice

"Anything else?" I ask as I write her order down

"This is a big step you are taking. They will be looking at your every move. There is no room for mistakes. How are you feeling about it?" Rita reminded me just how serious this is, she hadn't taken her eyes off me ever since I walked up

I put a big dot at the end of the word _juice_ and glance down to her in the booth "Excited, but worried at the same time. I hope that I hear soon from the lawyer…I just want my brother back"

"I am proud of you Callie. I really am" Rita reached for my hand and squeezed it softly "But, you know that taking care of a 15 year old won't be easy. It is a lot of responsibly"

"He's by brother. I was the one taking care of him for 6 years after our mom died, not our foster parents. This won't be any different. I don't want him to spend another minute in the foster care. I know what it is like being alone…I don't want him alone. I don't want to spend another day being separated for him…these last 2 years have been hard enough"

Rita smiled up to me and squeezed my hand softly "I will support you every step of the way, Callie. Now…" she let go of my hand "What about my soup?"

I chuckle back at her "Right, your soup. Coming right up" I say ripping the paper off the notepad and head to kitchen to put up the order.

**AN: So I know, not everyone is fond about Rita. But I personally find this the most plausible scenario. Don't worry, Rita will only be a background character. **


	3. Chapter 3

Stef POV

Lena and I were both getting ready for bed. She was already sitting in the bed, blanket over her legs, her back pressed to the headrest, while I was changing into PJ.

"Are we really doing this?" Lena asks surprising me, her eyes were down to her lap

"Doing what?" I ask when I jump in my PJ pants and place the clothes away

"Go into a custody battle with his sister. Fight for Jude?" I pulled the cover back when Lena said that

"Lena what kind of question is that!" I exclaim out instantly

"Just…hear me out," Lena replies calmly watching me, she waits till I get under the cover to continue "I have been thinking about this non-stop"

Lena paused and turned to me "We thought, Jude was alone. We thought his only family - his dad- was in jail. But we were wrong Stef. He has a relative…a sister. That _wants_ him. A sister who is willing to take care of him, to raise him. He has…a family"

"Are you saying you don't want him anymore?" I ask slowly and as calmly as I can

"Of course I want him. I love him and I will always love him. But for 6 years they were together and Jude said that Callie took care of him…until the system split them up. The first chance she got, she tries to get custody of him. Are we really going to stand between the two siblings?"

"I hear you" I say after a moment "But what if what Jesus was right about what he said at dinner? What if she is living in some dump? In a bad neighborhood? What if she has barely enough to take care of herself...let alone her brother? What if she is barely home to take care of him? What if she is a bad influence? What if…what if she doesn't really want him...Lena? What then?"

"…I don't know" Lena said quietly watching me "But I got the feeling, from when Jude talked to us, that Callie has been very protective of him, putting his need in front of her own. I doubt that has changed, Stef" There was a short pause and then Lena added in a hushed voice "What if Jude _wants_ to live with his sister?"

Tears whelm up in my eyes, I didn't want to think about that possibility "Lena—"

"It's a possibility Stef" Lena said very gently "In the end it will be a decision about - what is best for Jude. And maybe what is best for Jude…isn't us. What if it's Callie?"

Callie POV

My shift at the restaurant ended at 10, when it closed up. After my job, like any other day, I head home alone. In the dark.

Walking home at night is not something I look forward to. I don't even think about putting earphones in. I was walking fast, not stopping anywhere, always listing what is happening around me, eyes wild open, looking out for people who look shady.

Thankfully after 20 minute I was finally by the apartment block where I live. I make my the way up to the 3rd floor and get to my apartment.

I was living in a one bedroom apartment. When you enter it, at first there is a small hallway. The door on the left, lead to a small bathroom. There was no washing machine in the apartment, but there was a laundromat at the basement level of the building.

If you walk through the short hallway - you enter a bigger room. Which for me served the purpose of a small kitchen/my bedroom/living room. Even thou it served the purpose of 3 rooms, it wasn't stuffed full, the room was pretty empty. Beside the kitchen furniture, the room also had a couch, that is where I am sleeping, few closest for clothes and stuff, bookshelf, a very small TV, that came along with the apartment, because the previous owner had left it there, and a small coffee table by the couch. It wasn't much, but it was enough for me.

If you walk through the room, you find yourself in front of doors that lead to a bedroom - that's where Jude is supposed to live. The room wasn't big, but it had everything he need to make it comfy - bed, nightstand, closet, shelves, desk where he can study.

The child protective services already visited this place and checked everything out. They came to a conclusion, that this is a place where a child could live and they signed all the necessary paperwork. Thus allowing me to go further with getting the custody for Jude.

I lock up the doors, kick off my shoes and head over to the small kitchen area. From my bag I pull out a box of leftover from the restaurant. I knew how to cook, I learned to cook in the group home. But it was easier to just eat out of a box, than to make a meal to myself. I found cooking for one pretty depressing. When Jude will be here, I would definitely cook for him, without a doubt.

After my lonely supper, I head for a quick shower and then I fell in the unmade couch. I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. My routine has been pretty much the same, ever since I finishes school and got the job at the restaurant. It hasn't changed in months.

**_Three days later_**

I was at the restaurant, when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I stopped just outside the restaurant and pulled the phone out.

"Hi, Callie! It's Martin, your lawyer" The lawyer greeted me like he always does. It is like he doesn't know about this thing called Caller ID.

"Yeah, hello. Any news?" I ask as I take few steps away from the restaurants entrance

"That's why I am calling. There has been some progress" his tone of voice didn't sound too happy, nor did it hold a sad tone. It was very neutral "So, I just gonna explain the current situation"

"I'm listening" I say back, wrapping my free hand around my stomach, giving myself some sort of comfort

"Right now, for the last 4 months, Jude has been living with Adams Foster family"

"What? I thought he still was living with Greg..." Greg was the foster father whose car I smashed up when he was hitting Jude. We got separated from that point on. Last I knew, he was still living with that asshole.

"Not anymore. Like I said, he has been with the family for 4 months now" he explained, while I was just staring down to my feet and the pavement around me "He was placed there after his teacher reported to the authorities that Jude had been abused- " Martin was about to continue when I stopped him

"How bad was it?" I just had to know, how badly Greg hurt him "His injuries…how bad was he hurt?"

"The worst was ]dislocated shoulder. He had few other bruises," He said and then picked up where he left off when I didn't say anything back "So, the cops got involved and his social worker called this Adams Foster family. They have a good record, they have been fostering kids for like 10 years. They have adopted two kids themselves"

"What are you saying?" I ask back and bit my lower lip

"They were about to adopt him, the adoption didn't go through because we handed in our paperwork to get custody over him"

"So, uh…after 4 months they wanted to adopt him?" I ask in disbelief "That…that doesn't sound real! No one does that!"

I was taken aback by this news. Clearly I had not expected for a family wanting to adopt him. And only after 4 months, that just sounded unbelievable. We were in the system together for 6 years, no family ever came close to wanting to adopt us. And now, all of a sudden, a family wanted to adopt him, only after 4 months. This didn't seem real.

My feeling were dividing as well. I just want Jude safe. I was doing this, trying to get the custody of him, so he could be safe, so he doesn't get abused anymore. I would be taking care of him, making sure he no longer is abused.

But this news, that this family wanted him, are willing to adopt him, just messed me up. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel, nor I didn't know what was the right thing to do.

Part of me wanted this family to adopt him, other part of me was ready to fight for Jude, with everything I had.

"Well, it is. They would have adopted him faster, but at first they had to have Donald sign the abandonment papers, that took some while" Martin explained in the same neutral tone of voice, it gave me no comfort at all.

Sometimes I felt like I was talking to a robot or something. Martin was that kind of guy that doesn't get attached. It wasn't that he didn't care, he just knew better than to get attached to his cases.

"I can't believe this" I say pacing down the street, I run my free hand over my face "What now? Where do we go on from here?"

"Well, I was contacted by their lawyer, they want to meet you"

"Meet? Why? Why would they..." I got lost in my thoughts and didn't finish the sentence as I slumped down on the bench by the bus stop

"From what I was told, they were pretty surprised to find out about you as well. What would you want to do? Would you want to meet them? Try and talk it out with them on your own or would you want me to handle it for you?"

I ignore his question and jump to the one thing that was on my mind "What about Jude? I get to see him, right? I should see him…I have a right to see him"

"That was one of the things they wanted to discuss with you first" Martin replied quickly

"I…don't…uh...I don't know" I kept mumbling it over and over again. I was lost, I had no idea what was the right thing to do

"Callie?" Martin asks after what seemed like a minute of complete silence from me "I need an answer"

"I need time to think about it" I said and hung up quickly. This wasn't what I had expected, it took me by surprise. I stared down the street blankly, thinking about my options. Trying to decided what I was going to do.


	4. Chapter 4

Callie POV

I was sitting in the passenger seat of Rita's car. My knees were bent, my backpack was place on my legs, right elbow was pressed to the side of the window at the doors. I was biting my thumb nail as I kept looking at the place where I am supposed to meet them.

"Why did agree to this?" I wonder out loud as I watch the people inside the restaurant through the big glass windows

"Because it is the right thing to do" Rita's said back from the drivers seat "And most importantly, you are doing this for Jude"

"What do I say to them?" I ask staring out of the side window, watching people go in and out of the restaurant

"The truth. Always go with the truth" Rita replies without missing a beat. It felt like she knew that I was going to ask her that.

I place my hands on my backpack when I turn to look at her "If this goes South…I will blame you and Martin" I tell her in advance

"I know" Rita pats my shoulder "But honestly...I don't think it will. I think they will be nice people and I think you will find a way to work this out..."

"How can you be so sure?" I raise my eyebrow at her

"Call it a gut feeling if you like" Rita offered me a warm smile back and a soft shoulder squeeze

"You and your optimism" I said smirking back at her when I reach for the door handle

"Good luck" Rita says when I open the doors

"The hell with luck! I just hope the Universe will hand me some good from the _Life's mixed bag_" I replied getting out of the car

Lena POV

Stef and I were sitting at the booth at the end of the restaurant, by the window. We have been waiting for some 5 minutes now. Stef was tapping her fingers at the table, her leg was bouncing up and down non-stop ever since we sat down. Every 20 seconds she reaches for her phone, that stood in the middle of the table, to check the time.

"Stef" I placed my hand over hers when she once again reached for the phone "You need to calm down, love" I said softly to her, rubbing my thumb over her palm

"She is not going to show!" Stef said pulling her hand away from my, she pressed her elbows to the table, interlocked her own fingers and pressed her hands up to her mouth/chin region.

"You don't know that…give her some time" I said rubbing my hand on her lower back. Stef shifted again, her eyes darted over the street.

"How much time? She is already late 7 minutes and 22 seconds!" Stef said once again unlocking her phone to see the time

The small bell rang, indicating someone had walked in the restaurant. Both of our eyes immediately darter over to the doors, to see if by any chance it was Callie.

A young woman had walked in, she looked around early 20. Stef tilted her head sideways "Is that…Callie?" Stef wondered out loud

"Could be" I said as I looked at the girl. She looked around the room, searching for someone.

"Should we wave?" Stef whispered to me

"I'm…I…don't…know" I stutter back, watching the girl, trying to tell if that is her

Stef was slowly raising her hand up to wave at her. She almost did, but I quickly reach for her hand and pull it down, when I see that the girl found who ever she was looking for. That was not Callie, the girl walked over to some table where 2 boys were sitting.

"Uh..this is killing me!" Stef said and pressed her forehead down to the table. I place my hand on her back and run my hand in circles.

"She will show" I said with certainty

"How come you are so sure of it?" Stef mumbled back, her head still down at the table

"Because of one name" I paused for dramatic effect "Jude. If she really cares for he brother, she will want to talk it out and not get the court involved. As a kid who has been in the system, who has seen how it works, how much it screws the kids up…she wouldn't want to put Jude through it all. Not if she can avoid it"

Stef lifted her head up. She takes a deep breath in and gives me a small peck to my lips "I love your rational thinking and your optimism"

I grab a hold of her hand under the table and we once again keep our eyes on the street to look out for the girl.

We hear throat clearing from our right few seconds later. Simultaneously we both look to the person who made the sound. Obviously, while we talked we had missed the small door bell.

A girl was standing by our table. She was dressed very casually – sneakers, tight, black jeans, dark red sweater on top. Her brown locks fell over her shoulders. With her right hand she was holding on to the backpack that was just on her right shoulder.

It was her.

How could I tell?

Her eyes. It was all in her eyes.

The girl lifted a small paper up with her left hand and looked to it "Are you...Adams Fosters?" she reads off the paper and looks up to us, waiting for an answer.

"Y-Yeah…yes! Yes-that's us! Yes!" Stef called out and jolted up so fast she hit her knee at the table. There was a loud bang. The girl took a small step back, watching closely, how Stef makes a fool of herself. I move out of the seat like a normal person would – calmly, without banging my extremities at table.

When I stand up next to Stef, there is a short moment of us just looking at one another.

"Callie?" I ask stopping the silence. The girl nods backs. I extend my hand to her "Lena"

Callie looks to my hand, she hesitates with the handshake. But after few seconds, she crumbles up the small paper and puts the paper in her pocket.

"Pleasure" Callie replied, taking her right hand off the backpack strap to shake my hand

"My wife, Stef" I tell her looking to Stef by my side. Callie's ends eye contact with me and holds it with Stef.

"It is nice to finally meet you" Stef replied when she shook the girls hand "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us"

"Please…have a seat" I gesture to the other side of the table

Callie nods back, she takes her backpack off her shoulder, tosses the bag to the inside of the seat and only then sits down herself. Stef and I both sit back down to our side of the table. I had figured there would be the awkward silence at first, but Callie spoke up first, surprising both of us.

"I'm not really sure…why you wanted to meet" She said calmly, but there was a small hint of attitude in her voice. Callie was looking between us, she placed her hands on the table, interlocked her fingers. Stef gives me a quick look, telling me she didn't like the attitude.

"We wanted to talk about Jude" I said in the same calm manner

"What's there to talk about? He is my brother…I want him back. I want him to live with me"

"And he is our son" Stef said back firmly, without missing a beat

I could see Stef's comment didn't sit right with Callie. It ticked something off. Callie closed her eyes for a second, tilted her head to one side, bit her lower lip, she tightened the grip on her hands. Her body tensed up.

"I'm sorry…your _son_?" Callie looked to Stef and let out a frustrated chuckle "No! He is not your son. Jude is my brother and you two are just strangers to him" I could tell Callie was trying to stay as calm as possible. What Stef had said, had made her visibly upset.

"I would beg to differ" Stef said back as politely as she could, she held the eye contact with the girl

This wasn't how I wanted things to start off. I want that awkward silence. Awkward silence would be better than this.

I saw so many similarities between Stef and Callie. Both of them are ready to claw each others eyes out. I could tell Callie was just as stubborn as Stef was. They both know what they wanted and they won't step back until they get what they want. Neither of them were easily intimidated. They both had a strong presence with them and they said what they mean. And both of them where driven by one thing - love.

I was sure, if this works out, those two will be butting their head along the way.

"Can we please…keep it civil and start over?" I interject before either of them could say something else. Callie slowly takes her eyes off Stef, who watched her as a hawk, and looks back to me.

"We are here because of Jude" I continue and give Stef's hand a soft squeeze under the table "It is clear to me, that you love your brother. Very much. And you would do anything for him," Callie tilts her head to one side slightly, she keeps quiet, waiting for me to finish

"We love him too" I say sincerely, placing my free hand on my chest "Ever since he stepped his foot in our home, he has brought nothing but happiness and love in our lives"

"What are you saying?" Callie speaks up when she takes her hands down from the table and places them in her lap

"We want what is best for Jude. I have no doubt, you want that too" I don't have to wait long for a head nod from her that confirmed what I thought. Callie's features softened a lot after that.

"I hope you can agree, that taking this to court…will only make things harder for Jude. It would be horribly cruel to make him chose between his sister and the family has has grown to love and that loves him back as well"

"If you are trying to talk me into giving up on him-"

"No, no, no…that's not what I am saying" I interject at once, stopping the trail of thought "We are willing to put aside the adoption papers and try and work this whole thing out. Without involving the court and our lawyers."

"Of course we want the same thing from you" Stef spoke up, her voice was firm

Callie sat quietly for a while. Her eyes kept darting between us. She was biting her lower lip when her eyes finally stopped at me"What are you suggesting? How do we make this work?"


	5. Chapter 5

Callie POV

"Weekends?" I look between them "Are you fucking kidding me!?" I lean against the table, closer to them

"Watch your language!" Stef instantly calls me out. My eyes from Lena travel to Stef and I glare down at her. I opened my mouth to answer her, but Lena once again interjected, stopping me from saying something to Stef that I would regret later.

"Callie, like I said, this would be just a starting point" Lena said calmly, guiding the conversation back to the previous topic

"Starting point for what? Do you really except me to just see my brother twice a week?" I state back when I return to stare down to Lena, I had no intention to play just by their rules

"Look, we have no intention from keeping you apart from your brother. We just want to make sure you are up for the challenge, Callie. We want to make sure that you can truly juggle being there for him and working. Taking care of someone is a full time job and doing it alone...it will be incredibly hard" Lena answered calmly

"I took care of him after our mom died. It wouldn't be any different now" I reply back to Lena

"We know you did" Stef states "But taking care of him now would be different. You would need to make sure all the bills are paid, so there would be hot water, electricity, roof over his head, food in fridge. You need to make sure he has clothes and shoes to wear. You would need to pay for any medical expenses like dentist. You will need make sure he knows wrong from right, but you can't make all the decisions for him. You need to guide him in his life, but you can't control him. You are his sister, but you will need to set down rules and to some level be his parent. Don't forget about college…you do want him to have a future, right?"

My palms got all sweetly as I listened to Stef talk. She got me all worried and worked up. It sounded so much easier when I thought about it all in my head. I take my hands to my lap and run my palms over my jeans. I swallow a lump in my throat.

"We simply want to make sure you can handle all of it!" Lena continued after Stef was done talking "If you start with weekends - it will give you time to work it all out. Get used to him actually being there. Our concern is Jude - we want what is best for him!" Lena reminded me and glanced to her wife for a short moment

"One thing, we want to avoid is…" Lena took a small pause "him being pulled out of yet another home without any warning. We know, it would be different. He would be with his sister, but he still would be ripped away from his current home" Lena's voice cracked at the last part

I shift in the seat when Lena said that. My head dips and I start to pick my fingernails. I knew very well what her concern about Jude was.

Jude and I have been through a lot of that. One day we were in one home, the next we were with complete strangers in other. And it was not only that. Whenever we were pulled out of a home, we changed school as well. That was the main reason we never had any friends and why our grades were not that good. Over the years we lost the sense of stability and safety. We knew it was only a matter of time before we will be taken away again. The only constant thing we had, for years, was each other.

Changing homes is about adjusting to the new place, to people. Maybe slowing the process down will not only help him, but me too. As much as I hated to admit it, Stef was right, when she said it would be different. I have never provided for two people. The responsibility will be just on my shoulder, he will depend on me, he will expect thing from me.

Right now the Adams Fosters were his family, one that clearly loves him. Ripping him away from people he loves, does sound incredibly cruel thing to do. I can't do that to him. If I did that, I wouldn't be better than the social workers.

"All we want is to smooth this whole process. Don't make it so rough on him. If things work out, in time he will be living full time with you. We won't fight for the adoption, there will be no custody battle. We just want to smooth the process so everyone get accustomed to the situation. We want you to get adjusted to the new role you are about to take on" Lena took a pause and then added slowly "We won't keep you two apart"

I glance up to them, run my index finger over my nose "Yeah…uh, okay. We can start with weekends" I slowly nod back to them in agreement "So, what now?"

A big smile appeared on Lean's lips "How about we take a ride?" I rise my eyebrow at her, curious about what is on her mind.

* * *

><p>I was sitting in the back of Stef's car, behind the drivers seat. Lena was sitting in the passenger seat. My bag was in my lap, I had placed my hands over the bag, keeping it safe. Holding on to is as if it gave me strength and courage. Most of the ride I was staring out of the side window.<p>

"Here we are" Lena says unbuckling her seat belt when Stef pulls into a driveway on the left side of the street

There was another car parked in the driveway. The house we pulled up to looked huge. There were few shrubs in front of the house, grass was cut neatly, I saw a big tree behind the house. There were no scarps, no broken fence, no trash around the house. It was a well maintained house, just like the other houses in this block.

I unbuckled my seat belt and followed them slowly out of the car. When I got out of the car, I tossed my backpack over my shoulder and stood by the open doors, staring at the house. I hadn't even seen the inside of the house, but I already had the feeling, the inside of will look as amazing as the outside of the house.

One thought started to roam around my mind ever since Stef pulled up to the house. The thought was making me slightly uneasy and worried. My confidence wasn't as high as before I came here. I started to question my choice to get custody of him. How will Jude ever want to give this place up and live with me in my shitty apartment? My place is nowhere close to being as good as this. I won't ever be able to get him a house.

"Come on in" Lena's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. When I looked away from the house, I saw that Stef and Lena were already standing on the path that leads up to the house. When I look over the house once more, I see a glimpse of a figure standing on the other side of the window, looking out to me.

I close the doors behind me and follow the two woman up to the house. I swallow back a lump, that had formed in my throat, and follow them inside the house. My heart started to beat faster after I took the first step in, my palms got sweaty once again.

Great, the house looked even bigger from the inside. First thing I noticed when I walked inside, were the many photo frames on the wall. From what I saw, the house seemed to be decorated neatly. This truly was a home, not just a house.

"Callie" I hear a quiet voice coming from my left when I wasn't even 2 seconds in the house. My heart pumped the blood faster through my veins, when I heard his voice. It voice was lower than I remember, but I still knew it was him even before I saw him.

When I look to my left I see Jude standing there nervously. Time froze for few seconds as we took each other appearance in. I had no idea where Stef and Lena went. My eyes were on Jude, only on Jude.

He was much taller than I remembered him. Jude looked around my height. Last I saw him, he was pretty much just skin and bones, very thin and weak looking kid. Jude has clearly gotten some meat and muscles on his bones, he looked so much healthier than before. But most importantly - he looked happy.

"Jude" I breathed out and let go of the backpacks strap that I was holding on to. The bag slips down my shoulder and falls to the ground. We both walked towards each other until we met in the middle of the hallway. I place my palms on his cheeks. Tears whelm up as I look him in the eye.

"I missed you so much, Jude!" I place a kiss on his forehead and pull him in close to me. I feel his hands wrap around my back. His fingers press into my back when he buries his head to my neck. I hear his heart beat inside his chest.

"I missed you too"

Tears streamed down my cheek as I held him close. I waited so long for this moment. All the doubts I had, disappeared when I saw him. Jude is the only one that truly matteres to me. I would do anything for him and I don't want to live another day without him.

Jude leaned out of the hug to look at me "Why are you crying?"

"I'm just happy to see you" I say while few more tears stream down my cheek "It has been so long…too long. There was a time where I though I would never see you again" Jude lifted his hand up to my face and with his thumb her wiped away the tears "I was scared because I didn't know where you were and I didn't know if you are okay…" I said looking to his big, brown eyes

"Don't cry" he says softly

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry" I mumble quietly and look up to the ceiling, trying to stop the tears. I pull my hands in my sleeves I wipe the tears away myself. Seeing him right in front of me stirred up so many emotions and feelings.

"I'm happy to see you too. We are here now. We are both okay" he replies and reaches for my upper arm to give it a gentle squeeze

I tried hard not to cry, but once I looked back to him, I just couldn't help it. My lower lip whimpered and another tears rolls down my cheek. Once that happens, Jude takes a step closer. He kisses my cheek and then pulls me into another hug.

"I love you Callie" He whispers to me when I am in his arms, I feel his hand softly running up and down my back

"I love you more than you can imagine Jude" I say back with shaky voice as I close my eyes and bury my head to his shoulder, enjoying this moment.


	6. Chapter 6

Callie POV

Today was the first Saturday after my meeting with Stef and Lena. This is the first weekend he will spend over at my place.

It was just 9:30 in the morning, but I have already vacuumed and dusted the place twice. Yesterday, I went to mall to do grocery shopping. My fridge and cabinets haven't been this full since…well, ever.

I am fluffing the pillows on my couch when the doorbell rings. I stand up straight and stop moving for few seconds. My heart did a little jump and my hands got sweaty all of a sudden.

"Coming!" I call out when I run my hands over my jean

With a small bounce in my step I walk over to the doors. I peak through the eye to see if it really was them. Jude was standing in front, both woman behind him.

When I reach for the lock, my hands shake slightly. The door handle feels cool when I touch it, it was a soothing feeling. I turn the door nub and open the doors.

"Hi!" I say excited, with a big smile on my lips, when I see all three of them standing there. I hear them all greet me back. Jude took a step close to me and we share a quick hug.

I step aside "Please, come on in" I gesture inside the apartment.

Jude walks in first, then Lena and finally Stef, who was carrying a black bag. When I close the doors after them, I walk more inside the room my self. They all were standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen/living room.

I rub my hands together nervously. Jude and I share a smile before I speak up.

"So…um, I can show you around quickly. It's not as big of a place as your home but…"

"It looks wonderful" Lena replies kindly, I smile warily back to her

I gesture around the room we were in "As you can see…this is the kitchen slash the living room, slash my bedroom"

While Lena and Stef both just look around with their eyes, Jude hurries up to the couch and sits down on it, testing it. He bounces up and down on it and then he walks over to the bookshelf, looking at the books that I owned.

"Bathroom is over there" I point to the doors on my left. I head over to them, open the doors and switch the light on. Both Lena and Stef head over to check it out "It's not too big, bit it has everything you need"

"What about washing machine?" Lena asks when she looks over to me

"Um…there is a laundromat at the basement level. I use that" I explain quickly. For some reason, I was very nervous. Stef and Lena made me nervous.

"Oh, okay" Lena smiles back at me

Jude squeezes pass Stef, who was still looking at the bathroom. Stef ruffles his hair before she walks back to the middle of the living room. Stef looks over to the other doors and nods to them "Is that…Jude's room?"

"Yes, it is" I head over to it and open the doors

"I have my own room?" Jude asked and switched off the light in bathroom

"Yeah…you can check it out" I smile to him

"I have not had my own room in years. Not since mom died" He said hurrying to his room

"Now you do" I say proudly and walk in the room after they all have entered it. Stef places his bag on the bed, Lena goes over to the bed and sits down to check it out.

"I love the wallpaper" Lena said trying out the bed and looking at the wallpaper

"I put the wallpaper up myself. Got it at a sale. Liked the color" I said touching the light green wallpaper

Stef was leaned at the door frame. Her eyes are on Jude, she was watching how Jude was trying the chair at his desk. Jude was spinning around on it. Stef was smiling as she watched him. You could see in her eyes, how much she loves him.

"Oh!" I call out surprising all of them, when I remember the last thing I wanted to show him

I hurry up to the desk. Jude stops spinning around and watches me. I open the top drawer and take out the one and only photo frame. It was a picture of the two of us and mom. It was taken some 3 months before our mom died, we were sitting in moms lap, all smiling at the camera.

"Where did you get this!" Jude called out reaching for the photo frame

"I got it from moms room before I was taken away. I took just the photo, I got the frame last week. I know it is a little crumpled up. I was holding on to it for 8 years..."

"It doesn't matter" Jude said looking at the photo in his hands "Mom loved this photo. She carried a copy of this in her wallet as well" he looked up to me and reminisce "Dad took it with his new camera"

"Yeah…I remember. He didn't know how to use it. We were sitting on moms laps for hours" I was clearly exaggerating "till dad finally could take the picture"

Jude laughed out "Mom teased him about it for the next week"

"Yeah, something like that" I said when Jude turned back to the desk and placed the photo on the side of it, by the wall, facing the chair

"It's perfect" He said after he found the perfect angle how to place it

"Yeah" I said placing my hand on his shoulder, rubbing it softly as we both looked over at the photo

"Well, we should probably go" Lena stood up, she rubbed her hands together

Stef leaned off the door frame and glanced to her wife "Yeah, we…we should go"

"I will walk you out" I tell the two woman

When we are at the small hallway before the front doors, Jude gives them both hugs and kisses. He receives many kisses back and also a hair ruffling from Stef.

"Be good and behave. Remember, we are call away" Stef says kissing the top of his head the last time

"I know mom" Jude said back to Stef

"Have fun baby" Lena said placing a kiss to his cheek "We love you"

"I will mom. Love you too"

I wasn't prepared for him to call them that. Him calling them moms – hurt. For a moment I thought that Jude had replaced mom. I don't say anything to him, I just dip my head down and look down to my feet. I walk to the doors, unlock them and hold them open for the two woman. Stef walked out and waited for Lena just by the doors.

"We will see you on Monday" Lena said to me as she stopped next me

"Yeah…till Monday"

"His classes start on 8:30" Lena reminds me

"Yes, I remember" I nod back to that "Don't worry, he will get there on time"

"Good, good" Lena hesitates before she leaves. She glances back to Jude, who was standing just at the end of the small hallway.

"Bye bud" Lena and Stef both waved at him

"Bye" Jude waves back at them

I close the doors and lock them after they leave. I turn back to Jude and watch him. After few seconds he asks back "What?"

"Pizza?" I ask clapping my hands together and pushing the memory of him calling them mom, to the back of my head

"Are we going out or ordering in?" He asks looking excited about both of the ideas

"You chose" I say smiling to him

"Order in. I don't feel like going out" he says back and does a spin around "Where is the menu?" He asks when he turns back to me

"Top drawer, next to fridge" I point over to the kitchen area. I walk over to him and we both look over the menu as we try to decide which one to order.

* * *

><p>We are both slumped down on the couch. Our legs were stretched out to the coffee table. The now empty pizza box was placed over my stretched out legs. Our glass of Coca-Cola, were on the ground, by the couch.<p>

Jude reached for his glass and using the straw he sucks in the cold beverage. I take another bite of my last pizza slice. I take a bite out of it and while still chewing, I continue on with my story.

"Like I said, after Juvie I lived in the group home, where I met Rita. She knew this guy Martin. He was a foster kid as well. Rita met him back when she worked at another group home before Girls United. She introduced us and that's how I got myself a lawyer. I am his Pro Bono case"

"That's pretty cool. You don't often hear stories where a former foster kid becomes a successful lawyer" Jude wonders out loud

"Martin is a success story. He is one in a billion!" I say before I take another bite "So anyhow, Rita and Martin helped me get all the paperwork done and they helped me start this whole thing. Without them, I don't think I would have made it this far" I toss the rest of the pizza back in the pizza box

"Are you going to eat that?" Jude points to the half of the pizza that I tossed away

"No, you can take it" I say and watch him eat the slice of pica in few seconds

"I'm hungry a lot" Jude says with full mouth when I toss the empty box to the coffee table "Moms says I am like new Jesus. They also say I eat so much because I am growing a lot"

There it was the word again – mom. I don't know why it bothered me so much. Part of me felt like he was replacing mom or even forgetting her. Another part of me felt a bit jealous, because he has found himself a family, a family of which I am not part of.

"Do you love them?" I ask keeping the eye contact with them

"Stef and Lena?" He asks to clarify

"You have called them moms more than 10 times in the last hour" I say looking down to my hands

"I do" He answer without hesitating

"More than me?" I dread to hear the answer to that question

"Callie—" Jude softly says my name

"Do you love them more than you love me?" I repeat the question and look up to him. Yeah, I definitely felt jealous, even thou there was no real reason for me to feel this way.

"You can't compare love, Callie" he says back sounding way too smart for his age "I don't love you more than I love them. And I don't love them more than you. I love you all the same. Love is love!"

Silence fell over us after he said that. It took me a while till I answer him.

"I'm sorry" my head dips down, I look to my lap "I don't know what came over me" I felt bad for putting Jude in that position, for asking him that

"Don't worry about it" Jude replies casually, when he starts to shift in his place

He took his legs down the coffee table and turned in the couch. After he leaned his back at the hand rest of the couch, he stretched out his legs over to my lap. I place my hands over his lower legs.

"Tell me about them. Tell me about what happened to you after I got arrested" I turn my head to look at him

"What do you want to know?" He asks back as I run my hand softly over his lower legs

"Everything"


	7. Chapter 7

Jude POV

_Flashback_

_I was sitting at the big kitchen table, minding my own business. Part of me was curious about my new foster parents relationship, it was so affectionate. Also, I have never lived with same gender couple. _

_Lena was by the stove, she had just taken out the lasagna, when Stef walked up to her and wrapped her hand around Lena's lower back._

"_Need any help, love?" Stef asked her wife_

"_No, I got this. You can pour the drinks" Lena replied. It seemed like they were into nicknames. I heard Stef call her son B before and the daughter Mrs. Thing. Both of them seemed to like their nicknames. _

_Their kids joined us at the kitchen few seconds later. I try to keep myself as small as possible as the kids sit around the table. I try to stay invisible and I keep my head down.  
><em>

_I hear my name being said. Very slowly and warily I lift my head up. I was expecting to be yelled at for doing something wrong, for sitting in the wrong spot or being in someone's way._

"_Orange juice or milk?" Stef asked with a smile on her face, she placed her hands on both of the drinks _

"_I can also make tea or get you just glass of water" She added once I hadn't replied_

_My mouth is half-open as I stared blankly at her. I wasn't used to having options. Why is she asking me to chose?_

"_Jude?" Stef tilted her head sideways lightly, keeping her eyes on me. Her voice was gentle, only my mom used to talk like that to me "What would you like to drink, bud?"_

_Bud? _

_She called me bud. Did she just give me a nickname?_

_Answer her – I tell myself. It was only matter of time before her patience runs out and she snaps at me. I can avoid that by answering her.  
><em>

"_M-milk..." I stutter out quietly. Be polite – I remember what Callie told me – Always be polite!_

"_Please" I added and swallowed back a lump in my throat, hoping my kindness didn't come too late_

_Stef just smiled at me, she reached for the milk, which was right by her left hand and then she reached over the table – towards me. I flinch back, further away from her hand._

_The motion doesn't go unnoticed. I see the way the twins are looking to me. Lena stopped just by the table, holding the lasagna in her hands. Stef froze for few seconds.  
><em>

"_It's okay bud. I will just take your glass" Stef said and slowly reached for the glass. She poured the milk in and placed the glass back in front of me. Lena placed the lasagna in the middle of the table. She took my plate and started to put food on it._

"_Say stop" Lena tells me as she put some lasagna on my plate_

"_Stop" I say instantly. Lena glances down to the plate she was holding and looked at the little bit of food she had placed on it.  
><em>

_Stef glances up to Lena, they share a look. I hold my breath, wondering what will happen looks back to the lasagna and puts on some more on my plate before she hands it back to me._

"_Dig in, everyone!" Stef says louder once Lena walks to her seat at the end of the table "Jesus, leave some for others as well!" she smiles at the boy_

* * *

><p><em>The dinner went by fast. The food was delicious. For a moment I even thought about maybe asking more, but I knew better, I can't push my luck. There was no yelling or shouting, no plates were broken. The family chatted with one another non-stop. They discussed their day…in front of me! There was even some slight teasing. It was oddly normal. This dinner reminded me of the dinners we used to have, before mom died. <em>

_After dinner I managed to get a hot shower. No one banged on the doors, no one yelled at me to not use all hot water, no one shouted at me to get out of the bathroom. Lena gave me clean clothes before I got in the shower. They fitted me pretty well. The clothes smelled nice, like lavender, they were very soft and they were actually clean. I put my clothes, like Lena asked me to, in the laundry basket before I leave the bathroom._

_I walk to my assigned bedroom, which I have to share with Jesus. I sit on the bed and try to close the shoulder sling. It was really hard, I couldn't reach it. _

"_Need any help?" Stef asked from the doorway, I jumped slightly at her sudden presence_

"_I got it" I said back and continued to struggle with it_

"_I will just close it" She said coming deeper inside the room. Stef walked up to me and reached for the sling. I kept my guard up, I was ready to react to whatever may happen next._

"_How was the shower?" she asked when I felt her tighten the sling_

_I briefly glance to her before I look back down to the floor in front of me "G-good"_

_Stef closed the sling and took a step away from me "That's good" She smiled looking at me_

"_The kids are watching a movie downstairs" She points over her shoulder "You are welcome to join. Lena made popcorn"_

_Once again, she surprised me. I simply wasn't expected being treated this good. I was used to being ignored._

"_I'm tired" I reply back. Actually, I just didn't want to intrude. I was already forced on them by the system. I bet they didn't really want me. The least I could do was stay out of their lives as much as possible._

"_Okay" Stef says rocking in her feet back and forth "Our bedroom is two doors down. If you need anything, you can asks the kids or come to us." _

_Yeah, like that is going to happen. The last thing I want is to piss of their kids when I wake them in the night. I only nod back. _

"_Okay, good night, bud!" Stef says before she walks out _

"_Night" I say quietly to myself after she leaves the room_

_Laying down in the bed, while looking up to the ceiling, I replayed the night in my mind. This family seemed different. They seem nice. Could it be that they actually care about me?_

_End of flashback_

I had barely started my story, when Callie stops me.

"Are they different?" Callie asks

"Yes, they are better than anyone else we have ever lived with" I said back, looking straight back at her "Their love is unconditional. They care about me, even though I am not their kid"

"Have they ever hurt you?" I saw the concern in her eyes

"No, never. I was never yelled at when I lived with them. I was never ignored, neglected or abused in any kind of way. When I got the flu, Lena even stayed home with me. She made me soup and we watched movies together" Callie smile is very genuine. I think this was the moment, when she truly realized how much I love them.

Callie looked down to her lap, when she asked me, out of the blue "Do you want to live me?"

"Of course I wanna live with you! You are my sister!" I didn't hesitate to answer her

"But I am ripping you away from a family who you love. I am taking you away from a real home, a real family" she reasons back

"I—uh..." I lower my head down as I simply don't have an answer

"I am, aren't I?" Callie said standing up. As she walked to the window, she added "I'm the bad guy here!" Callie sounded very upset.

"You are not the bad guy, Callie! Don't you get it, I want to live with you! I want to be with you...the last two years we spent apart were the hardest years in my life. I missed you!" I said sitting up and watching her gaze out of the window

"But you also want to live with them?" Callie asked when she turned to face me

"Yes" I admit scared as I stare back at her

Callie stood there, not moving, simply staring back at me. She looked completely lost, like she had no idea what to do next.

"What now?" I ask dreading the answer

"I have no idea, Jude"

Lena POV

I walked inside our bedroom. Stef was sitting on the bed, laundry basket in front of her. I stood next to her and started to help her fold the clean clothes.

"He has been gone barely a day, but I miss him already" Stef spoke up as she was folding Jesus shirt

"He is not gone!. Jude is just staying with his sister" I said as I picked up Marianas shirt

"Still..." Stef sighted "He is not here!" she said sadly as she reached in the laundry basket once again and this time took out a shirt that belonged to Jude

Stef stared down to the shirt in her hands "He is our son, Lena. This family won't be the same without him"

"I know honey" I said reaching for the basket to put it aside "But you saw the two of them. Callie is nothing like Ana. I believe she truly cares for him"

Stef folded the shirt and put it at the top of the pile "Did you..." Stef started but stopped in half sentence. She brushed it off, got off the bed and took the pile of clean clothes to put on the dresser

"What is on your mind Stef?" I ask watching my wife from the bed side

"This will sound stupid-"

"It won't. Nothing you ever say will be stupid" I tell her at once "Please talk to me"

Stef puts her hands on her hips and her head dips down. I could tell she was having trouble saying what was on her mind. She was struggling with it. Stef runs her hand over her mouth "I'm jealous of her!" She admits looking down to the floor.

When she looks up to me she added "When I saw how close they were...even after not seeing each other for 2 years...I'm..I...I'm jealous of her relationship with him! I'm jealous of an 18 year old, because she has a stronger relationship with Jude, than I do. The way he looked to her...with so much love..." She once again stopped in half sentence

"Stef..." I breathed out

She throws her hands up "See...I told you it was stupid!" She turned her back to me "I'm pathetic! So stupid! I'm jealous of two sibling relationship..."

I hurried up to her. I wrap my hands around her from back and kissed her neck "It's not stupid love"

Stef places one of her hand over my arms, while other travels up to her cheek to wipes away a tear.

"I just love him so much Lena"

"I know you do. I love him too"

"This is the part where you tell me - _if we truly love him, we have to let him go_?" Stef asks quietly

"Yes" I whisper to her and press my lips to her cheek "We have to stand by him, no matter what he chooses, love. We will do what is right for him. We will support him even if he no longer will be living with us. In our hearts he will always be our son" I said as one single tear rolled down my own cheek


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hi, I just want to thank you all for the support. Thank you all for reading, reviewing, following and adding this story to your favorites. ******I'm sorry I can't update more often. But I always try to update at the end of the week.****

**I will be honest, I don't really know how I want this story to end (I am torn between the options). I have no idea how many chapters there going to be. I'm just as clueless as you are :D **

Lena POV

This was a sort of thing I would have expected from Stef, not from myself. I surprised myself by coming here and doing this. My car was parked on the street, by Jude's school. If I am not mistaken, in movies they call this a stakeout...or a lookout. I may be wrong about the correct cop slang.

I simply want to make sure that Callie gets Jude to school, on time and unharmed. Like she promised. This is just me being concerned about my son. I'm a mom, this is what moms do – we worry, non-stop!

I was tapping my fingers at my knee as I was watching the school and the streets around it, waiting for them to show up. As I kept waiting for Jude and Callie to show up, I couldn't help but to remember the first time came to this school with Jude.

_Flashback_

_The ride from Anchor Beach to Jefferson High school was very quiet. Jude was sitting next to me, in the passenger seat, holding on to his backpack. He was looking out the side window and hadn't said a word since the breakfast._

"_Here were are" I say as I park in the school's parking lot. I unbuckle the seatbelt and then turn to the backseat to get my purse.  
><em>

"_Aren't you excited? New school year..." I ask him when I look to out to the school  
><em>

"_And new school…again" he mumbles under his breathe_

_I sight "Look, honey... I know you have changed schools a lot and I am sorry you had to do it again. But your last school was simply too far away from home"_

_Jude turns to look at me finally "I liked the Anchor Beach better. It had a beach right next to it. Why can't I go there? Why did the other kids all go there, but I have to go to this..." He gestures with his left hand to the school_

_My heart ached for this kids. There was just so much hurt in his eyes. Jude looked sad most of the time. In the 3 weeks he has been living with us, he hardly ever has smiled. We have only heard his laugh once or twice. _

"_Jude, honey" I reached over to his left and say gently "We talked about this"_

"_Yeah, I'm stupid I know" He says back harshly looking back at the school_

"_No!" I instantly reply back " Don't say that!"_

"_Why not! ?It is true!"_

"_It is not true!" I insist and squeeze his hand softly "Look at me, Jude. Please, look at me" I wait till he turns to me._

"_You, my sweet boy, are not stupid! Trust me! With a little bit of work, with a little bit of help - you will soon be getting only B's and A's. I know you don't believe it, I know you don't believe in yourself...but Stef and I – we believe in you. Okay? We believe in you!"_

"_Why?" Jude asks back, taking me by surprise_

"_Why what?" I ask back confused, looking in his big, brown eyes_

"_Why do you believe in me?" _

"_Because we care about you, Jude. More than you can imagine" Jude looked taken aback by the words_

"_No one has said that before..." He says quietly and shyly_

"_Get used to it" I smile to him as I give his hand a soft squeeze_

_End of flashback_

I was taken back to the reality, when I heard a knock on the passenger side window. My head snaps to the right side. I see Callie and Jude both leaned down, looking inside the car, through the passenger side window. They were both smiling at me and waving at me.

I was caught in the act.

Callie opens the doors to the passenger seat, while Jude gets in the back seat.

"What a lovely surprise Lena" Callie said looking at me and then turned to the back seat "Are you as surprised as I am, Jude?"

"Oh, yes my dear sister. I am just as surprised as you are!" They had obviously planned this dialog to tease me

Callie turned back to me and very theatrically scratched her temple "Hmm, now why would you be here, when you should be at work? Hmm..."

Jude leaned from the back to the front, peaking his head between the two front seats. I bit my lip as I looked between the two siblings. My cheeks felt like they are burning up.

"Fine! Yes, you caught me!" I said giving up

"Yeah we did" Jude chuckled back

"I kind of expected Stef to do something like this...because of you, I owe Jude an ice cream" Callie said in playful manner

I looked between the two siblings. Jude had huge smile on his face, while Callie had a smirk on her lips.

"You bet that one of us...would show up here?" I asked both of them

"Yeah" Jude said excited "I will have a big box of chocolate ice cream waiting for me in the freezer the next weekend!" he pats my shoulder "Thanks mom! Got to run, can't miss my class! I have a test! Love you both" He said jumping out of the car

We both sit quietly in the car, watching how he crosses the street and then runs off to the school as the bell rings out. Callie's reaction changed dramatically once Jude was gone.

"So much for the trust thing" Callie muttered as she reached for the door handle

"Callie wait!" I reach for her shoulder to hold her back

She leans back in the seat and closes the doors. Callie presses her head to the head rest and keeps her eyes out the front window.

"I'm sorry" I try to apologize, but I felt so bad that nothing but sorry came to my mind

"Mm-hmm" She hums back in a manner, which made me think she doesn't really care what I say, what excuse I have

Callie turns to look at me and said in a hurt tone of voice "I told you I will get him to school! What did you think I was going to do? Keep him locked up in the apartment? Not take him to school?"

"Of course not! That's not why I…that's not what I thought" I reply the hurt in her eyes doesn't go away. I start to regret coming here. Now I know, that I made a huge mistake.

"To be honest" Callie said looking down to her hands in her lap "I'm kind of hurt to see you here Lena. I truly believed Stef would be the one sitting in the lookout for me. I guess I was wrong to think that only Stef doesn't trust me. It is both of you" She gives out a frustrated laugh

"And why would you trust me, right? I'm just some stupid kid that is trying to snatch up one of your kids...who is ruining your perfect family!" She looks to me with tears in her eyes "That's what I am - the bad guy!"

"Callie..." I say softly reaching for her hand. Callie pushes my hand away roughly.

"Don't! I don't want to hear it" She snaps back and gets out of the car, slamming the doors shut. I watch how Callie storms off around the corner of the street not looking back to me once.

Callie POV

I placed the bowl in the microwave and hit the start button. As I wait, I head over to the couch to make my bed.

The whole apartment was a mess. Jude and I messed it up pretty badly over the weekend. There were empty pizza boxes and food containers, playing cards were all over the pace, the pillows were everywhere, but on the couch. One slipper was by the TV other in the kitchen, food crumbs were all over the floor. I definitely need to clean up this place.

But just when I picked up one of the slippers, the doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone, so I got kind of wary.

I kept the slipper in my hand as I head over to the doors. When I lean closer to the doors, to look who it was, I was surprised to see Lena standing there. I lean away from the doors and try to think of a reason why she was here. As I stand by the doors thinking, Lena rings the bell one more time.

I unlock the doors and open the doors partly, only peaking my head out to talk to her.

"What do you want?" I ask harshly, still upset about this morning

"Can we talk...please?" Lena begs "Just for a minute"

"I'm busy" I say back after a moment. I wasn't really in the mood for talking. Usually I don't talk about my problems. I deal with them by bottling all of my feelings up inside. That's how I handle things.

"Doing what?" She asks and looks down to my left hand and the slipper that I was holding

"Hating on you" I say back as I open the doors wider and step aside to let her in

"I guess I deserve that" Lena's head dips down as she walks in the apartment

"That's why I said it" I mumble back as I close the doors behind her.

Lena notices the microwave going and points to it "Dinner?" She asks me when she turns to face me

"Yes" I say when I head to pick up the other slippers "I don't like cooking for one"

I head to place the slippers neatly away. When I turn around I am surprised to see that Lena was picking up the playing cards. I watch as she picks up all of them, put them in a neat pile and then places the pile of cards on the shelf in the bookshelf. After that she casually just picks up one of the pillows and carries it back to the couch, fluffs it up as she places it down.

"What...are you doing?" I ask when she picks up the other pillow

Lena looks to her hands, to the pillow "Sorry...I clean when I am nervous" She says placing the pillow down on the end of the couch

Lena rubs her hands together "Look, Callie...I'm truly sorry about this morning. I didn't intend to hurt you the way I did"

"No, you didn't expect us...me to see you there!" I correct her "You got caught, that's why you are here. If I hadn't seen you, you would not be here right now!"

Her head dips again, she closes her eyes briefly. I walk pass her to the kitchen and open the microwave to mix the soup up.

"You have to believe me when I say that I trust you!" She said when I closed the microwave doors "If we didn't trust you, we wouldn't have allowed Jude to stay with you"

"But not enough!" I point out, she sights as I say that. I knew I was right about that.

"You have to understand that this hard for us too. Not just you! Yes, we have some doubts, we worry! But only because we have been through this...before! We have been hurt by the biological family before!"

"What are you talking about?" I ask crossing my hands on my chest. Lena runs her hand over her forehead.

"The twins birth mom!" Lena explains further "The twins were with us for few months, when she decided that she wanted to get them back. The twins were taken out of our care and placed back with their birth mom. Their birth mom was clean for some 2 weeks, before she started using again. We found out, when the twins hadn't show up for school for 2 days in a row. Stef and I, along with our social worker Bill, went to her place and found her with a needle in her hand...she was barely alive. The twins were in the closet, afraid to come out because they thought their mom dealer was still there! They were holding on to one another, crying their eyes out. We were asked...by the judge...by the system to trust their birth mom - we did and in the end, the twins got hurt! We are afraid to see Jude getting hurt..."

I uncross my arms and say in a softer tone of voice "I'm not...an addict. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't gamble and I don't do drugs! I wouldn't hurt Jude like that...I would give my life for him!"

"I know that. We know you are nothing like the twins birth mom. But still, we barely know you, Callie. I hope you can understand, why we worry so much, why we have trust issues? Why it is hard for us to fully trust you!" Lena said looking desperately to me

"I guess...I understand, yes" I answered after a while, I thought about what she said

"Stef and I talked..." Lena spoke up when the microwave behind my back beeped "We want you to come over for dinner"

"Dinner?" I ask back surprised

"Yes, so we could get to know each other!" Lena nodded "How does this Friday sound?"

"I have a job" I say the first thing that is on my mind

"When do you get off?"

"Um…" my schedule had slipped my mind all of a sudden. I scratch my temple "I have my...schedule in my phone" I told her walking over to the coffee table where my phone stood.

Lena waited patiently as I looked the schedule up. I had forgotten that I took Friday off. So right now I was looking at the plan for Friday, where the only entry read – FREE.

"7..." I stutter out

"Do you want one of us to pick you up?"

"No!" I said way too loudly, I surprised Lena. I repeat it again quieter "No...no, I'm good. I like to walk."

"Okay. How does dinner at 8 at our place sound?" Lena offers a time

"Good...good" I nod my head back many times "8 sounds good!"

Lena smiled at me. We head towards the doors. When I open the doors for her, she asks to confirm what we just talked about "Okay. I will see you on Friday then. See you then!"

"Yeah...till then!" I say and watch her walk down the stairs


	9. Chapter 9

Callie POV

I stopped briefly at the start of the path that leads to the house. Through the window I saw how Stef carried something to the dinner table. I take in a deep breath and head down the path, up to the house.

Before I ring the bell, I look down to my clothes, to see if I was decent. Not that I can change my outfit, but I just needed to heck if I hadn't gotten some dirt on my clothes and if my shoelaces were tied.

I took the small shopping bag in my left and rang the bell with my right hand. As I waited for someone to open the doors, I took a small step back, held the shopping bag in front of me and held it both hands. The doors were opened by Stef shortly after I rang the bell.

"Callie!" She said what sounded like excited tone of voice. Not that I have heard Stef excited before, but if I needed to guess, this is what she would sound like excited "Great timing! Please...come on in" Stef said with a smile on her lips and stepped aside to let me in. Shyly I step over the doorstep.

"How was your work?" Stef asks kindly as she closes the doors behind me

I turn to face her "Good..normal. Like any other day" I say even though I didn't have work today

"That's good" Stef said back gesturing me to head further inside

I stop in the middle of the hallway, when I remember about the stuff I bought for them. Stef stops along with me. I reach in the bag and pull out the wine bottle first.

"I got you this!" I said handing her the wine "It's from Merlot grapes. I didn't know what Lena was making, so I went with wine that goes with everything. It is a very soft drink."

"Oh" Stef was genuine surprised as she took the bottle "You didn't have to Callie"

"And I got some grapes and chocolate as well" I said looking down to the bag

"You really didn't have to spend so much" Stef said as she looked to the shopping bag in my hand

"I couldn't come with empty hands" I said looking straight to her eyes

"Okay, then...Let me get that. I will go wash the grapes and open the wine," Stef said glancing down to the shopping bag "You can go take a seat. The kids are upstairs changing. They should be down shortly." She informs me before she takes off to kitchen

I nod back and walk in the dining room. The table was set neatly, napkins were folded and placed on the plate. Two candles, that stood on each side of the table, were lit. This looked way fancier than I thought it would.

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and ,before I could turn around, I heard Jude calling my name.

"Callie, you came!" he called and the next moment he was up to me, hugging me tightly

"Of course I came. No one should miss out on free food" I said jokingly ruffling his hair. As all my attention was on Jude, I hadn't noticed the three other kids standing by the stairs as well. One of them cleared their throat and that got my attention. My head snaps up to them instantly and I take my hands away from Jude.

The girl was standing hands crossed on her chest, she was judging me by my looks already. By the look on her face, I can tell, she doesn't like me very much. Or at all. Her twin was standing, hands by his side. He looked nicer than the girl, but still, I didn't get the warmest feeling from them. And then there was the bio kid, who to me just emotionless. I guess he didn't think anything of me.

"Good you are all down!" I hear Lena's voice before she comes in my sight "Hi, Callie!" She greets me kindly as walks pass me carrying a bowl of chicken drumstick. Lena places the bowl down and then walks to stand between us.

"Callie" Lena says looking to me "Meet, the twins…" she walks two steps closer to them and places hand on the girls upper hand "This is Mariana and her twin brother Jesus. We adopted them 10 year ago" and finally she nods towards the taller looking boy "And Brandon, Stef's biological kid from previous marriage"

Then Lena turned towards me "Guys, this is Callie, Jude's sister."

"Pleasure to meet you all" I say as polity as I know how, I wave my hand slightly at them

"Hi!" the bio kid says first, placing his hands in his jeans pockets

"Hey!" Jesus nods back, looking at me. The girl remains silent as she continues to watch me closely.

"Please, let's sit down and eat!" Lena says and gestures us to head to the table

Lena takes the seat at the end of the table, facing the window. The twins walk around the table, Brandon takes the seat at the other end of the table. Jude and I take a seat opposite the twins. Stef joins us shortly, with an open bottle of wine and 4 glasses in her hand. She walks to the opposite side, to the empty chair next to Jesus, closer to Lena's end of the table.

Stef pours the wine and hands the first glass over to her me

"Um, no, thank you!" I decline politely the glass of wine she offered me

"Really, not even a small glass?" Stef asks surprised with a raised eyebrow, she was still holding the glass out

"Thank you, but no thank you! I don't drink" I say looking up to her

"Okay, good to know" Stef places the glass in front of her own plate and then pours two more glass, one of which she hands her wife, the other to her biological son.

"Please..." Lena gestures to the bowls of food in front of us, telling us to dig in. Soon, we all have food on our plates, drinks in our glasses.

"So, Callie" about a minute in the dinner, Lena starts the _interrogation_ "Tell us a bit about yourself" Like always, Lena has a soft tone to her voice

I scooped up some salad on my plate and then look up to her "What would you like to know?" I ask and use the small pause to eat the salad on my fork

"Jude said you work in a restaurant" Stef says from my side. It wasn't exactly a question, but I got the point, they wanted to know about my job.

"Um, yes. I'm work as a waitress" I said glancing to Stef "At a restaurant called Dorado's Voce Del Mare. It's an Italian restaurant."

"That's why you knew about the wine so much?" Stef asks with a small smile on her lips

"Yes, I have to know the wines and drinks...I do have some knowledge, but like I said, I don' drink myself"

"Why is that?" Brandon asks "You must have drunk few beers or something in your teenage years. We all have!"

"No" I state back firmly "I have never drank an alcoholic beverage and never will!" When I looked back to Stef and Lena I explained further "You probably know that...our dad got behind wheel while drunk and caused the accident that killed our mom" The two woman nodded back "I just...after that I promised myself that I would never drink"

There was a small pause after that, where we all just ate for a minute.

"You said you worked at the Dorado's restaurant. Is it your first job?" Lena asks from the end of the table as she reaches for her glass of wine

"No. My first job was at a small burger place" I said reaching for my glass of lemonade in it

"Why the workplace change?" Stef asked curious leaning back in the chair

"The burger hunt was a good starting point, but I needed something more. No secret that in our world, it all comes down to money. I'm also not going to deny that I changed work because I wanted to get guardianship of Jude" I look to my side, to Jude. He smiles at me and continues to eat quietly "I needed...Judge needed to see that I had a job, with which I can support not only myself but Jude as well. And with my current job, I can do that!"

"I can name 10 more jobs, in the next 10 seconds, where you would earn more money than working as a waitress" Mariana commented from the other side of the table. I could tell by her tone of voice, that Mariana was basically laughing at me because I worked as a waitress.

"Well, sadly I couldn't get the other jobs" I said and looked down to the plate

"Why not?" Mariana asked even though I know she knew why. She wanted me to say it out loud.

"Because...I only have high school education" I say and try to stay as composed as I could

"Ah..such pity" Mariana muttered back in a mean way

"What school did you go to?" Lena asked after a brief pause to let me eat

"Crawford High School" I said pushing the salad around my plate

"Have not heard of it" Brandon mutters with the same mean manner as his sister "Must be a bad school!" I ignore his comment even though it was true. It had gone unnoticed and unheard by his parents as well. But his sister heard it and she snickered quietly along with Brandon.

When I look up to Lena, I see the way she looked at me. I could tell she knew that it wasn't the best school. In fact, I don't think it even counted as a good school. It was...average.

"That's...a public school, am I right?" Lean asks me back

"Yeah..." I drag "It wasn't really my choice to go there. We were all sent there"

"We?" Stef asks catching what I said

"The um...other kids...where I lived at"

"Where was that?" Stef asks sounding interested in the subject

I swallow back a lump in my throat as I look around the table. My hear rate increased and palms got sweaty as I glanced back to Stef, who was expecting an answer from me.

"...Group home" I say barely above whisper. This wasn't something I was proud off.

"You lived in a group home?" I was probably wrong, but I heard concern in Lena's voice. I hesitated with a head nod. Desperately, I wanted to change the topic. I was thinking hard to think of a question for them.

Brandon was my way out, as I remember Jude telling me he and Stef will drive to the airport to pick him up before the dinner today.

"Brandon...Jude said you study at NY? What university do you go to?" I ask changing the subject off of me

"Julliard" Her reply proudly "I study classical music"

"What instrument do you play?"

"Piano" He reply and looks down to his plate to pick up some food

"Wow...that's...quite impressive" I say back looking at him in surprise. I had not expected that.

"He's been playing since he was 6. And now he has a scholarship at Julliard!" Stef said looking proud of him "Lena signed him up for the first class" She places her hand over her wife's hand on the table.

"It wasn't piano I signed him up to, but just music after-class activity, so the wait till Stef get's off work would be shorter" Lena explains to me

"I was a single mother at that time. Just divorced, I had to work long hours to get the bills paid" Stef explains further "And Brandon had to wait after his classes. Usually he used to spend his time with Lena, sitting in her office, doing homework. When Lena mentioned that he could go to some after-class activities, I instantly liked the idea. He would meet new friends and the time would fly by faster"

"Where was his dad? Couldn't he watch him?" I ask her back before I even realized it. I hadn't meant to ask something so personal. It just slipped out.

Stef detained a small pause, I think it was a hard subject for her "...He had his own problems. He's an alcoholic. The divorce hit him hard...he wasn't at a good place at that time. I didn't want him around B at that time"

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. It must have been really hard" I said back sincerely and look up to Brandon "Is he...in the picture now?" I ask looking over to Lena and then back to Stef

"He's not drinking, so yeah...he is back in the picture" Lena confirmed it

"So you have 3 parents" I said smirking at their oldest son "You must be spoiled as hell as a kid"

Jude nudged me with his elbow in my side "Ouch...what?" I whisper back at him as I look to Jude at my side

Jude nodded Lena's direction barely visible. And that is when I remember about what Jude warned me about – don't curse in front of Stef and Lean.

"So sorry! I didn't mean to...it just slipped...sorry" Lean nodded back, acknowledging my apology.

To my horror Mariana brought the topic back up "You were saying something about living in a group home!" She said and I saw a small, mean looking smirk on her lips "How did you get there?"

I glare back at Mariana as I trying to think of something I can say back to that. It wasn't like I wanted to tell them that I was in Juvenile Detention for 5 months.

"I was placed there" I said avoiding the answer as best as I could

"How?" She asked to just push my buttons even more

"I'm sure you know how that happens" I reply back not breaking the eye contacted "You being a former foster kid an all, you probably know how foster kids are constantly place from one place to another"

"I'm sure it has an interesting story underneath it" Mariana pressed on the topic

"It doesn't" I reply back and bit my lip to not snap back at her or say something to her that I will later on regret. I needed to leave a good impression after all.

"Mariana, enough!" Lena said to her daughter firmly, but in a hushed voice. Mariana rolled her eyes and scoffed back at her mom, but did give up the topic in the end.

"Jude has a family you know" Jesus says out of nowhere when I had lifted the fork with food up to my lips. Slowly I lower my form back down to the plate

"I'm sorry?" I ask back confused

"He has a family! Why do you want to take that away from him?" Jesus states back

"Jesus!" Lena scolds the other twin as well "We talked about this!"

"What? It is just a question!" Jesus says back and looks back to me as he waits for an answer

I had to think very carefully what to say next. I certainly didn't want to cause a scene.

"You don't have to ans-" Stef speaks up,but I stop her

"No,no...It's okay" I say and look back to Jesus "I'm his family too, you know. I'm not just some stranger!"

"Yes you are! A stranger I mean!" Mariana says back harshly "You hadn't seen him or talked to him in two years and now you suddenly want him back or whatever! No, that's not how it works! You can't just come back in his life! You don't know him anymore, he is not the same kid that you left behind 2 years ago!"

"We were separated in foster care. That's not my fault! I thought you two would understand that...being former foster kids, you know what the system is like"

"Don't compare us with you!" Jesus snaps back "We are nothing alike! I would never leave my sister! She would never leave me!" Mariana nodded agreeing with her twin

A let out a frustrated laugh"I didn't leave him! I already told you, we-"

"Yeah, we know. Separated!" Brandon said from the end of the table "But that is not what we heard!"

"And what have you heard, if I may ask?" I turn to look at their oldest son

"That you were arrested!" He states, staring back at me. I had no idea how he knew that. My record is sealed, the judge sealed it. Did Jude really told them?

The room went silent. And it stayed that way for few seconds. All eyes were on me.

"The way we see it -you did something dumb, you broke the law, you got arrested, you got yourself separated form Jude. It wasn't the system, it was you! And now, after 2 years you want him back. You don't get to have him back!" Brandon says leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms on his chest

"Mom's may believe your act, but we don't!" Mariana states next

"You are a criminal. Once a criminal, always a criminal. How long will it take for you to get arrested again? How long until you leave your brother again? How long until you hurt him again!?" Jesus asked me, glaring down at me

"I'm not a criminal" I say back glancing around the table

"You have a record!" Brandon states back

"It is sealed!" I turn to look at him

"Doesn't change the fact that you broke the law and were in jail" Mariana says looking proud of herself

"It was a long time ago" I say back more quietly. No matter what I say, I won't be able to convince them otherwise. They had made up their mind's about me, before I even came here. It was no use.

"That's your answer?" Mariana asks "It was a long time ago and it is sealed?"

"I don't know what you want me to tell you" I looked between the three kids "Nothing I say, will ever be good enough for you!"

"How about you back up and let our moms adopt him. So Jude would have a real family! That actually loves him and cares about him" Jesus says harshly

"So he could have a chance at future" Brandon added "Because let's face it, it is not like you could ever send him to college or afford some actually nice stuff for him. You probably are counting cents as it is, it is not like you can support two people with a stupid waitress salary!"

"You should go! And leave Jude alone. Forever!" Mariana added lastly

I looked to Jude by my side, who was dead quiet. He was staring at his foster siblings in shock, but he hasn't said a word. Stef and Lena both sat with shocked facial expressions as well. Stef's mouth was lightly parted, her eyes focus on her bio son at the end of the table. Lena looked stunned. Her mouth opened and closed few times, but no sound came out.

I push the chair back, it makes a loud sound as the chair grate at the wood floor. stand up the next second and turn to leave the house.

I hear someone call my name, but I don't stop. I slam the doors shut behind me as I hurry away. I walk as fast as I can down the path to the street as two tears, that I was holding in, finally fall down my cheeks.

**AN: It is so hard to write the kids mean. This was a struggle for sure. This isn't the best chapter I have written, I'm sorry for that.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Guess who is procrastinating her university works? I am! Guess who is going to hate herself in about 2 weeks? I am! Guess who won't have a decent night sleep because of it? I am! Oh, but I am enjoying the moment now! So here you go, lovely readers...enjoy this while I go an procrastinate some more by writing a chapter or two up front :) ****This chapter is up so early only because I am procrastinating my university work.  
><strong>

Jude POV

I call after her, but she doesn't listen to me. She doesn't stop. When I hear the doors shut after Callie, I look back to my foster siblings. I felt nothing but anger as I glared at the three of them

I grabbed my napkin from my lap, tossed it to the table next to my plate and pushed the chair back. Without saying anything, I leave the table. Next moment I am by the front doors, jumping in my shoes. Lena and Stef don't say anything, they let me go after her.

I slam the doors shut after me and run down the street to catch up with Callie. She had gotten 5 houses down. Callie was walking head down in a fast pace, she obviously wanted to further away from the house as fast as possible. As I got closer to her I hear sniffs.

"Callie!" I call her again, when I was some 10 steps behind her. She stops briefly to look at me.

"Go home Jude" She says and continues her way down the street "Go back to your family!"

"No! I'm going with you! You are my family!" I say walking up to her

Callie turns around and keeps walking, I walk along with her. When we walked pass the streetlight and the light shine on her face, I saw tears steaming down her cheeks.

"Nice foster siblings you got!" Callie says harshly as we continue to walk together. She was clearly hurt and upset.

"They are not usually like that. I don't know what had gotten into them!"

"Clearly the three of them hate my guts!" Callie says as she runs her fingers over her cheeks to wipe away the tears "Even more than Stef!"

"Stef doesn't hate you! She is just very protective. Lena says she loves hard. She doesn't hate you Callie!"

"Well, but your foster siblings do!" Callie says wiping her nose. I don't know what to say to that, so I just walk with my head down.

"Why did you tell them that I was arrested?" Callie asks sounding hurt as we stop in the middle of the pavement

"I didn't! They must have overheard me mentioning it to Stef and Lena or something!"

"You told Stef and Lena?" Callie asks in disbelief

"I just said that you were in Juvie! That's it! I didn't say how or why it happened! I didn't go into any details! They didn't ask any detail about it and I didn't tell them anything else! You have to trust me!" I explain quickly

Callie looks back from the way we came "I do..." she looks back to me and smiles sadly. We continue to walk together.

"I'm sorry they were so mean to you. And I'm sorry I didn't defend you, I was so...shocked. I don't understand why the acted the way they did or why they said that stuff to you. You didn't deserve it" I said to glancing up to her time by time. Callie walks in silent, her head down to the pavement.

"If it helps...I think Stef and Lena really liked you. I think you left a great impression on them!"

"You think so?" Callie asked glancing to me

I nod back to her vigorously "They don't care about all that fancy stuff"

"Fancy stuff?" Callie asks not following me my trail of thoughts

"You know, that you didn't finish the best school or that you aren't working in some big firm earning tons of money..."

"What do they care about then?" She asks me as we cross the street

"How you treat me" I reply casually

"How do I treat you?"

"Good!...But it could be better" I said with a smirk back

"How could I possibly treat you any better?"

"Oh you know...small stuff...like chocolate ice cream after every meal" I suggest with a big smile on my lips

"Ha! You wish!" Callie says and pushes me softly. I push her back playfully and then run down the street away from her, like playing catch.

I know she is going to tickle me to death once she caught up with me, but at least I got her to laugh. That's all I wanted. I hate to see Callie sad, I hate to see her hurt. And I hate myself for allowing them to treat her like that. I should have stood up for her, like she always has stood up for me.

Callie laughed out as she started to run after me, I heard her footsteps just behind me "I will catch you..."

Stef POV

My blood was boiling with anger. I was having trouble containing it.

"Sit you ass back down!" I say loudly and firmly when the twins were about to stand up and leave. They both slowly sit back down. Brandon doesn't even attempt to stand up. He stays still in his spot.

"What...the..hell...was...that!" I spell it out for them, word by word! I was so shocked by my kids, how they treated Callie that I was left speechless for a minute at least. The moment both of the Jacob siblings were gone, I had snapped out of it.

I stand up quickly as I could no longer sit still. I pace to the two small steps that lead up to the hallway and then turn back at them, running my palm over my face. Lena looked to them after she finally gained her voice back.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" Lena asked calmly yet with a firm touch as she stood up as well. She pressed her hands at the side of the table. I could tell, on the inside, she was just as angry as I was, she knew how to contain her anger better.

The kids all looked around to one another, waiting for someone else to answer.

"We just needed her to back away from Jude, so you could adopt him. And we could become a family!" Mariana said looking to her mama

"Back away?" Lena stood up straight, she looked completely shocked by Mariana's words "She is Jude's sister! She is his family!" Lena pointed her right hand to the front doors "And you treated her like..._crap_! You drove her away! And not only her...Jude as well!"

"She's a waitress..she can't support Jude being a waitress!" Jesus argued back

"And how exactly would you know that?" I ask him back taking a step closer to them. I rested my hands on the chair backrest "None of you have worked a single day in your lives! She is working her butt of...just so she could provide Jude with everything he needs! You don't even know how much money she has already spent on Jude. She is putting Jude in front of her own needs!" I take my hands off the chair rest and take a step back, throwing my hands up

"But you wouldn't know that, would you? It is not like you have tried to get to know her. You already came down hating her guts! You already had a plan how to drive her out of the house...away from Jude. You knew which buttons to push to make her feel uncomfortable and ashamed...you exploited her weakness!"

"She just have high school education!" Mariana said back not backing down from their opinion about her

"So what!?" I snap back

"She has no future!" Mariana added "That means if Jude stays with her, he has no future as well!"

"I have high school education! Does that mean none of you have future?" I argue back to Mariana's logic

"...Well...but you have...finished the police academy!" Mariana stuttered back quietly

"And you and mom both provide!" Jesus added to Mariana

"She's 18! Do you except her to have a college degree and be married already?" Lena asked them back frustrated "Just because she isn't attending college the first year after high school doesn't mean she never will or that she doesn't want to!"

"She was in jail!" Brandon added from the end of the table

Lena and I both turn to him "Where did you even hear that?" I ask him crossing my arms on my chest. Lena and I both agreed not to tell the other kids, not only that, we promised Jude not to tell them. I hadn't broken the promise and I can honestly say, I don't think Lena did either.

"We overheard you two talking" Brandon answer quietly after he swallowed a lump in his throat

"So you listen in on other people conversation?" Lena clarified what he had just said "That's how you knew?" She walked closer to him

"No..we just heard you two talk" Mariana added quietly, trying to help her brother out

"It was a _private_ conversation! One that I very clearly remember having with Stef only, in our bedroom...with closed doors!" Lena turned back to the twins

"How can you be okay with _her_ being around Jude?" Jesus asks gesturing with his hands "She's a criminal!"

"I remember very clearly how she told you all how her record was _sealed_!" I said very slowly and emphasize the last word

"But she has been in jail! You are a cop, how can you be okay with that! How can you allow her to even be around Jude" Jesus asks back in raised voice

"_Juvie_!" I correct him "It is not the same thing! She made a mistake in her teen years, paid her price, she suffered the consequences and the judge sealed it! It is in past! Besides we don't even know what she did – she could have just tagged a wall for all we know!"

Lena added" And it is not like you all are as innocent as you think! You all have done stupid things. The difference is...you had us to clean after you, but she didn't have anyone! She was all alone! There was no one to protect her!"

"You are on her side!" Mariana said back sounding hurt

"You think there are _sides_?" I asked her back "There are no sides, Mariana! Callie and us -we want the same thing - to do what is best for Jude!"

"And what you did...not only hurt her. You also hurt Jude! You hurt him more than you think you did. Why do you think he is not here anymore? Why do you think he ran after her?" Lena asked and looked around them

They all suddenly looked so guilty. I think they finally realized that what they did -didn't help at all. I think they finally realized that by hurting Callie, they hurt Jude even more and drove him away as well.

"I don't care how you do it, but you need to apologize to her and to Jude!" I say crossing my arms on my chest

"How do you expect us to do that!?" Brandon asks me for some advice

"I doubt either one will want to see us" Jesus added looking between me and Lena

"And whose fault is that?" I ask back resting my hands on the chair again

As none of them said anything back, with their head down, Lena continued to scold them in her usually calm manner "It is safe to say we are both very disappointed in you guys. We raised you better than that! You are old enough to know that you shouldn't treat people like that!"Lena said as she stood next to me. Her voice was very stern, the kids knew better than to mess with Lena now

"What you did, what you said, the way you said it...it was all way out of line. It was _inappropriate_, _unacceptable_, _rude_, _hurtful_ and incredibly _mean_! You didn't even give her a chance. You just assumed the worst of her! Callie didn't deserve that!" Lena glanced to me as she detained a small pause, she put her hand on my upper back

"Mom is right. You need to apologize to both of them! We don't care how you do that, that's not our problem! You messed it up - you fix it yourselves!"

I look over to the twins "And honestly guys...I expected at least the two of you to understand what they are going through! You have been in the foster system, you know how bad it is, how bad people treat you there. You got lucky, that you weren't separated. Both of you know how hard it is to keep siblings together and for them it has been ever harder because of the age difference" I looked between the twins, both of them were too afraid and too ashamed of what they did to look me in the eye. So they kept their eyes on their laps "I you were separated...wouldn't you want to get back with one another? Wouldn't you do whatever was necessary to make it happen?"

Jesus looked to his sister. After a small moment, Mariana glanced to him as well. The answer was in their eyes, how they looked to one another. I got the message across to them.

"you...you treated them like you were superior, like you were better than them! Like you stood above them, just because you found a family and they haven't! For 6 years they were alone, with no one else, but each other to turn to. For the last 2 years, they didn't even have each other. Not everyone is a lucky as you were, not everyone get's their happy ending. Callie hasn't! But is she a bad person because of it? Is she a bad person for wanting to get her brother out of the foster care?" I look at them waiting for them to answer my questions

"No" Mariana shakes her head and answers very quietly. Jesus just shook his head back, looking incredibly guilty.

"That's right! So why do you treat her like she is? You should think about that!"

"Go to bed" Lena states firmly. They all quickly got up and hurried up the stairs.

Lena turns to me "Poor Callie, that was so harsh...I can't believe the kids talked to her like that"

"The night went from good to bad so fast! I was so stunned by what they said" I said as I run my fingers over my forehead "I would have never guessed they would do something like that"

"Do you think she will forgive them?"

"...I honestly have no idea, Lena. Part of me wishes that she makes it incredibly hard for them. After what they said to her..." I shake my head thinking back to all the mean stuff that was said to her

"I know what you mean" Lena says picking up two of the plates. I pick up few of the glasses.

"How long do you think Jude will stay with her?" I ask as we head to the kitchen with the dirty dishes

"I kind of what him to stay with her for a while. I don't want her to be alone. Not after this" Lena admits as she places the dishes in the sink

"So...we should probably bring few more clothes and his school stuff over tomorrow" I suggest. Lena nods back agreeing as we head to clean off the rest of the table.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I didn't want to cut the chapter in half and leave you hanging for another week, so today I will spoil you with a longer chapter. Hope you enjoy :)**

Callie POV

When I hear the doorbell, I close the tap and grab the towel to dry my hands. I toss the towel over my shoulder, when I am up to the doors. Without looking who is on the other side, I open the doors.

"Hey, Callie" Lena said cheerful

"Um.." I was surprised to see Stef and Lena there "...Hi" I manage to stutter out

"May we come in?" Stef asks next. I hesitate for few seconds, but of course I let them in. Only when they are in my apartment, I notice that Stef had a bag with her.

As Stef was looking around the apartment she asked "Where's Jude?"

"Aghhh…shampoo in eye!" Came a loud shout from the bathroom "Burns so bad!"

"Ah!" Stef points to the bathroom and we all smile about it

"Look, I told him to go back..." I said to them the next moment. I had a feeling they were here because they wanted Jude to go back to the house. Why else would they be here if not for Jude?

"That's not why we are here" Lena said to me

Stef lifted up the bag "Brought few more of his clothes. We figured he will want to stay with you this week"

"You did?" I ask surprised as Stef puts the bag on my couch

"His school stuff is there as well" Lena said pointing to the bad "Make sure he does his homework!"

"You are not taking him back?" I ask shocked

"No, he should stay with you this week" Stef replies with a smile

"Whole...week?" I ask surprised as I look to the two woman in front of me

"Why not? He's safe here with you. Besides, I doubt he wants to see his foster siblings anyway" Stef explains

"About that…" Lena said warily taking a step closer to me "We are truly sorry for what they did, what they said last night"

"It's fine" I brush it off and toss the towel to the end of the couch

"No!" Stef said quickly and firmly "It's not okay! We had no idea they would act like that. Lena and I were both...stunned and shocked. You didn't deserve that, you didn't deserve to be treated that way"

"We are sorry, for how they treated you" Lena said looking guilty "I hope you can forgive us"

"There is nothing to forgive...you didn't do anything" I said and detained a small pause "Besides, they didn't say anything wrong, I am just a stupid waitress and I do have just a shitty high school educ-"

"Stop!" Stef said loudly, stopping me. I was taken aback by her stern voice "None of that matters, honey!"

_Honey..._Did she really just call me honey?

"We know how hard you have worked to get where you are now. You did this all on yourself, even if the odds were against you. You should be proud of yourself. You have a good job and a great home. It doesn't matter what school you finished or what job you have - you did this on your own" Lena gestures to the room around "Yes, you have made some mistakes on your way to get here...but who hasn't? We have all done stupid things one time or another"

"You don't care that I was arrested?" I ask surprised

"You said it yourself, Callie" Lena spoke up "You record is sealed. The Judge sealed it. It's in past and it should stay there!"

"Your not afraid that I will turn to my _criminal acts_?" I say with a hint of hurt in my voice

"We know you wouldn't do anything to jeopardize what you have. Especially because Jude is back in your life-" Lena couldn't finish the sentence, because the bathroom doors opened

"Who are you talking to Callie?" Jude came out with a towel wrapped around his waistline "Moms?" He asks surprised as he sees them with me

"Hey, bud!" Stef greets him

"What are you doing here?" He walked up to us, leaving wet foot prints on the floor. With one hand Jude was holding on to the side of the towel, so it doesn't open up or fall down, exposing him.

"We dropped off some few more clothes for you and got you your school bag" Lena explains to him

"We figured you don't want to see your foster siblings right now" Stef adds looking to the boy

"They are idiots!" Jude says harshly "I hate them!" He says and storms off to his room, slamming the doors shut

We all look at the closed doors "H-he's just mad. He didn't mean that. He will come around" I tried to explain his behavior to them

"Well, he has every right to be pissed at them. We understand where his anger is coming from" Stef says crossing her arms on her chest

"You can be angry too" Lena adds tilting her head sideways "After how they treated you...we would understand if you would never want to come over ever again."

"What I don't want...is for Jude to be around them!" I stated and crossed my hands on my chest "I'm not the bad guy! And if they keep trying to turn Jude against me-"

"We talked to them!" Stef interjected "After you both left...we talked to them!"

"They admitted this morning that they were wrong. And no one sees you as a the bad guy, Callie" Lena continued "They understand now from where you are coming. And they feel guilty for what they did and how they treated you. It won't happen again, we promise! They won't be trying to turn Jude against you!"

Jude's bedroom doors open. We all turn to look at him. Jude comes out fully dressed, with his towel in his hands "I can't believe they said that" He said harshly continuing where he had left off before storming away

"Especially the twins! They have been in the foster care. They know what is like. I would have understood if it was only Brandon..."He took the towel up to his hair and dried it for few seconds

"And how in the hell did they even found out that Callie was arrest! I only told you!" He looked up to his moms, demanding an answer from them "Did you tell them?"

"No!" Lena said at once "No, we didn't! I promise you, Jude, we didn't! We asked them and they said that they overheard me and mom talking. That's how they found out that-" Lena glanced to me "-you were arrested"

"I can't believe they said that it was Callie's fault for us being separated. It was my fault...not Callie's!" he said a bit too much and of course Stef and Lena caught it. I saw it in their eyes, their eyes grew big when he said that.

Jude only realized that when he noticed the dead silence in the room and that we all were looking at him.

"Jude!" Lena looked to the boy, who was now frozen in his spot. I think he surprised himself by telling that. He didn't exactly looked scared for his life, he just looked...guilty for letting it slip. Because he knew I didn't like to talk about it.

"What are you talking about? Why was it your fault Jude?" Stef asked in a much more firmer voice as she now looked between me and my brother. She took a step closer towards him.

"He made a slip...He didn't mean that. It was my fault!" I said stepping in front of Jude, to protect him

I didn't know what to expect from them, especially from Stef. She was very intimidating and there was this..._fire_ in her eyes. My protective mode just turned on and I couldn't help it. For all I know, this calm front could change any second now and they could hurt him. I needed to make sure that doesn't happen.

_ Protect Jude at all cost._

Stef raise her hands up in front of her when she saw me go in my protective mode "Honey, we are not going to hurt him. Or you. I promise...you are both safe"

There it was again, that word – _honey_

"It was my fault! Only my fault!" I repeated firmly, still thinking Stef will do something. I needed to convince her to only hurt me, not Jude.

"Can you tell us what happened before you got separated?" Lena asked softly, placing her hand on Stef's lower back

"It was my fault" I repeated once again, looking now to Lena "My fault! Not Jude's! My fault. Jude didn't do anything. It was my fault!" I was starting to feel all worked up

All the guilt I felt 2 years ago, came back to me. And it all started to feel like it was just too much. I came home late. I didn't watch Jude, like I should have. I let him hurt Jude. It was my fault we got separated, because I panicked. I panicked and did a stupid thing.

My chest felt really tight. My breathing became rapid. I pulled my hands in fist to stop my hands from shaking. It was getting hard to concentrate, to think. I felt like I was suffocating. I felt like I was losing control over my body.

I don't know what was happening to me. I have never felt this way before. This was a first time anything like this has happened to me. It scared me.

"Callie...honey" Lena took a step closer to me speaking in a soft tone"It's all right!"

"My fault!" I repeated desperately before I took in a shallow breath, looking at them

"What's happening to her?" I hear Jude's voice from my side

"I think she's having a panic attack" Lena states as she takes another step closer

"Help her!" Jude called out sounding desperate

"Get a glass of water and wet cloth" I heard Lena say before she took another step closer to me. Stef hurried to the kitchen area.

Lena placed her hand on my upper arm "Callie, you are hyperventilating...Breath in through your nose" Lena instructed and then demonstrated

She took in a deep breath thought her nose for some 5 second. Then she held her breath for 3 seconds and then she breathed out. All while I was breathing in shallow, fast breathes, trying to get enough air in me.

"I know you can do it...follow me. Breath in" Lena said calmly while watching me carefully

I follow her instructions as best as I can. Lena kept talking with me, she kept repeating the instruction over and over as I tried to carry them out.

"Very good" Lena said after few round of the breathing exercises "One more time, deep breath in..." She watched as my chest raised as I sucked in the air "Hold it" Lena waited 2 seconds "And out. Good...you are doing great Callie"

Lena reached for the wet cloth her wife was holding out and took it. She run it softly over my neck to wipe away the sweat.

"Feeling better?" She asked when she run the cool, wet cloth over my forehead. I nod back as I hold my breath.

"Good. You will be okay, Callie, don't worry" Lena said gently as I exhaled the way she taught me to

"Wanna sit down?" She asks, I nod back again

Lena sits down next to me on the couch, while Jude and Stef both stand by the coffee table, looking down to me worried. Stef hands me the glass of cool and refreshing water. I drink it empty and hold it in my hands.

"Are you okay?" Jude asks when he sits on the coffee table in front o me

"I'm okay, Jude" I say barely above whisper

When Lena placed her hand on my back, I flinched away at first. Once she started to run her left hand softly over my back, like my mother used to, I started to calm down. No one had done that in years. It felt so weird being soothed like that. It was such a mother-like gesture.

"Is this the first time you had a panic attack?" Lena asked still running her hand up and down my back

I nod my head back, looking down to the floor. I hated that I got so vulnerable in front of them. I hate that Jude had to see me like this.

"Don't have to be ashamed, Callie" Stef said softly from where she sat next to Jude "It can happen to all of us. It's okay, honey"

"Can you tell us what happened?" Lena asked warily

"Whatever you say, it can stay between us" Stef added as she locks eyes with me "Whatever it is, whatever happened...you can tell us!"

I looked over to Jude. I think he wanted to tell them, he wanted them to know. And without saying anything, just with his look, he was asking me for permission. I nod to him and lean back in the couch.

"I got detention, for talking back to teacher" I started "So I got home late"

"I was home alone" Jude picked up "Our foster father usually came home around 5. I got bored so I...I went snooping. I went to my foster fathers room, to his closet and..." Jude started to pick his fingers nervously "and...I picked out one of his ex-wives dresses. I wanted to try it on. And I did" He admits quietly and scared

Both of the woman sat quietly, listening to us telling the story. They didn't interject or commented how stupid it was. They just listened.

"But our foster father got home sooner that day. He came in his room and saw me in his wife's dress. He got really mad and..." Jude stops. I can tell he can't finish the story. So I finish it.

"When I got home, I found him beating Jude. He was kicking and hitting him. Calling him names and…I tried to pull him away. But he..." Nervously I touched my face few times, scratching it, running my fingers over my nose or lips "...He kicked me to my stomach. I knew I wouldn't be able to pull him away from Jude, so I...I picked up the bat, that stood by the front doors and…"

Both of the woman were holding their breathes "I run out to the street and started to smash his precious car. It got his attention to me and away from Jude. That's all I needed. I continue to smash it until he called the cops. They came and arrested me for damaging property"

Shyly I look up to the two woman to see their reactions. I saw nothing but concern and sympathy in their eyes. It was like they felt for us, for what we went through.

I run my right hand fingers over my bridge of nose and look down to my lap "That's the last I saw him. On ground...curled up in ball"

"What about the foster father?" Stef asked once I was done with the story

"What about him?" I ask looking to her

"Wasn't he arrested?" Stef asks back, pressing her elbows to her knees

"For what?" I ask back, taking her by surprise

"What do you mean for what?" Stef asked leaning back to sit straight "For child abuse"

I gave out a laugh "You really think the cops cared about that?" Stef gave me a hurt look before she stood up, paced three steps away and turned her back to us

And then I realized something. I still didn't know what Stef did for a living. All I knew was that Lena worked in a school. It looked like Stef was taking this whole thing too personal as if…

"Wait!" I said causing Stef to look back to me "You are a cop, aren't you?"

I knew the first time I met Stef that there was something about her. They way she presented herself. How she walked. The way she spoke. Jude did say that Stef was very protective. I never asked him about their jobs, I didn't really care about what they do for a living, not until now.

"What if I am?" Stef asks back

_And what if she is? _- I ask myself as I stare back her. Stef was expecting an answer. I don't know how to answer that. What if she was a cop? Do I feel any different about her? Do I hate her more and not like her? Am I scared of her? Do I want to keep my distance from her even more than I did at the beginning? How can she be okay with me having a record?

I shook my head back and lean back in the couch as I had no idea what to say back to that.

"You see why it was my fault?" Jude spoke up "If I hadn't been so nosy, so stupid...none if it would have happened. It wasn't her fault that she was arrested! It wasn't her fault that we got separated! It was my fault! All my fault!"

"Jude, it was my fault! I should have been there and then none of that would have happened!" I argue back quickly. I didn't want Jude to blame himself. He was just a kids, he just wanted to have some fun. There was nothing wrong with that.

"It was neither one of your fault!" Lena said sternly stopping our bickering

"Lena's right" Stef agreed with her wife as she sat back down on the coffee table "It was your foster fathers fault. He should have never hit you...either of you. It was wrong of him to do that! And it was also the two cops fault. They didn't do their jobs right. No matter what the situation, we always need to hear both sides, _always_! And they didn't listen to your side"

"I should have tried harder to get him off of him before I grabbed the bat! It's my fault, I panicked and took the bat..." I reasoned back, I still believed very strongly that it was my fault

Stef said shaking her head back "You did what you had to, to protect your brother. At that moment, you did the only thing you could have done to get him off of your brother..."

"But I-" I wanted to continue

"There is no - _but_" Stef says sternly putting a stop to it. She looked straight to my eyes "It wasn't your fault Callie!"

Stef turned towards Jude, who was sitting next to her" And it wasn't your fault either, Jude!"

My mouth parts few times, but nothing comes out. Stef puts a hand around Jude's back and pulls him in a side hug and kisses the top of his head.

When I looked down to my lap, I noticed that Lena had placed her hand over my right hand. I don't know how I hadn't noticed it. I don't know how I allowed her to do that. I had already allowed her to sooth me after the slight panic attack. It was too much. I had allowed too much.

It freaked me out so bad, that I pulled my hand away and stood up suddenly. I rub my hands to my jeans "Tea...you want...Do you want tea?" I stutter out looking to Lena and then to Stef

"No thank you" Lena declined politely

"No, we're good, honey" Stef said smiling to me

I blink back at them. I made it awkward. It is now definitely awkward.

"Callie and I were thinking of going to a movie!" Jude spoke up stopping the dead silence. I let out the breath that I was holding.

"Yes, we need to go...if we don't want to be late" I add nervously, just wanting to get out of this situation

"You want to join us?" Jude asked taking me by surprise

That wasn't the plan. It was supposed to be just me and him. I bit my lip and stare at the wall as I silently pray that they will say no, that they have somewhere to be. I can't hang out with them. It would be too awkward and uncomfortable for me. It would be too much for me.

"Maybe some other time" Lena spoke up. When I looked down to them, I saw that Lena and Stef were both watching me carefully. I swallow back a lump in my throat and look away from them.

"Yeah...we need to go." Stef says standing up "We have errands to run. It will take whole day as it is"

Jude was clearly saddened by this, but I wasn't. I was secretly glad. There is only so much Stef and Lena I can take in a day. What happened 10 minutes ago was like 3 days worth of moments with both of them.

"We will be going then" Lena said and kissed Jude on the top of his head "See you later!"

Jude nodded back and the next moment Stef pulled him in another hug "We love you Jude"

"Love you too" He said back when Stef pulled out of the hug

"It was nice talking to you Callie" Lena said kindly as she walked pass me. I nod back not knowing what else to do.

"Have a good day" Stef smiles at me as they walk to the hallway to let themselves out. A short moment later I hear the doors shut behind them.

I turn to look at Jude. He looked happy and it didn't seem like them knowing bothered him. Jude actually looked relieved. But it bothered me a bit. Mostly because Stef was cop and I still can't believe she is okay with what we just told her. They both took it so well that it surprised me.

I hadn't expected them to take it so well.


End file.
